The Skies Over Wutai
by PhantomPanther
Summary: 18 months on from the chaos of Advent Children, Cloud receives a mysterious invitation from an even more mysterious messenger. Little does he realise that upon accepting the invite, his world is about to spin on its' axis once again...
1. Chapter 1

**Eighteen months on from the chaos of Advent Children, Cloud receives a mysterious invitation from an even more mysterious messenger. Little does he realise that upon accepting the invite, his world is about to spin on its' axis once again. Rated M for violence and sexual scenes.**

The Skies Over Wutai

**Chapter One**

xXx

It was the weekend – Sunday, to be precise; perhaps the only day off that Cloud Strife actually got to himself to relax. Life in the city of Edge – more than a year on from the saga of Kadaj and company – was hectic now; as busy, if not more, than Midgar had been. Life as Cloud had known it a year and a half ago was starting to return to normal, after a fragile existence of trying to rebuild what they had so violently lost. The city of Midgar was barely habitable after the destruction, but since the restoration had began, it had slowly risen up from the ashes of death and chaos. Midgar's heart was beating strong once again, but Cloud's home was in Edge, now.

In fact, he was living as close to a normal life, now, as he ever thought he would. His fighting days were over – he had promised Tifa and the kids that much. His delivery business was running like a well-oiled machine and he usually never had any spare time on his hands. If he wasn't making deliveries, Cloud would be helping Tifa at the since re-established 7th Heaven bar, or doing something with the kids. He was always so busy.

Busy. Busy. Busy.

Often enough, his mind barely got a chance to stand still. To take a deep breath and exhale slowly, calmly. But that's the way he liked it to be – occupied. Cloud's depression was something that he had come to terms with; it was unlikely he was ever going to be able to pull himself completely out of it, despite the fact that he had learnt forgiveness – or _tried_, at least.

It was still a concept he was having a hard time getting to grips with. Keeping busy seemed to make for a good distraction from this fact. Somehow, learning forgiveness would just never be enough. It would never be enough to bring _them_ back… It was typically something that weighed heavily on his mind.

But today was Sunday, and the bar was always closed on Sundays. If Tifa didn't take at least one day off a week, she would collapse from exhaustion. Cloud relished Sundays in particular; he didn't take orders or make deliveries on this day of the week either. It was one of the only times he got quality time to spend with the children, and do the things he wanted to do. Nonetheless, today was a good day to stay indoors, as it was snowing, in the midst of one of the coldest winters the Planet had endured to date.

Tifa had ventured out earlier in the day with Marlene and Denzel, into the town centre of Edge to buy some more supplies for their schoolwork, rugging them up warmly first. They had been going a little stir-crazy and wanted to run around in the snow. Finally she relented and took them out. Cloud could now hear them playing and laughing downstairs as he went over his accounts in his office.

Sometimes he preferred to be alone on his one day off; solitude made for a good escape from his hectic schedule of constantly being in the presence of other people. It seemed his attendance was always demanded by someone, somewhere.

Tifa really needed to hire some more staff, Cloud thought. She often gets so overworked that she's too exhausted to do anything nice for herself. The kids can be demanding, too, leaving he and Tifa with barely enough time to think straight, let alone have a break. He thought dryly in that moment that it sounded like they were an old married couple with children; enough people already thought that, he thought with a snort.

Reno never stopped giving him stick about it, but Cloud didn't see Tifa in that angle. She had been a friend for as long as he could remember. Besides, a presence in his heart was stubbornly refusing to take its leave. Cloud planned on going to visit the church later on in the afternoon, whether it was still snowing or not.

Some hours later, a heavy knock sounded at the door. It was almost dark outside from the snow-laden clouds obscuring the sunlight, but it wouldn't be long before dusk set in.

"We're closed," Tifa's voice rang through the corridor.

The knock then persisted, heavier still. Cloud frowned and stopped writing for a moment, angling his head in the direction of the front door. He was vaguely curious as to who it could be.

"_Yes?" _

"_Is this the residence of Mr. Cloud Strife?" _

A woman's voice.

"_A delivery for Cloud? That's ironic…I'm afraid he's busy at the moment. Can I pass on the message?" _

"_I have confidential information to pass on to him."_

"_Oh…"_

"_I need his signature. If he is around, it would be appreciated that I see him." _

The voice had a foreign element to it. Unmistakably, this person was not from the Midgar area. Unable to restrain his curiosity now, Cloud descended the stairs and met Tifa halfway down as she was coming up to get him. She had a concerned look in her brown eyes, as he looked at her momentarily before continuing down and making his way to the front door. Tifa then joined his side, standing slightly behind him. Marlene and Denzel stopped playing and hid behind Tifa, peeking around from behind her at the stranger.

Standing on the front door step was a woman, with a plain white envelope between her fingers. The most obvious feature about her was the blood-red woollen cloak she wore about her shoulders, the hood pulled up over her head to shield the snow. Underneath that was a drab grey military-style uniform, complete with black combat boots. Apart from her face, the only part of her flesh showing was that of her knees and thighs where her skirt stopped and her boots began. Her hair colour was hard to depict, given that it was hidden under her cloak for the moment, though it appeared dark rather than light.

Cloud eyed the revolver tucked into a pouch at her belt carefully. It was emblazoned with the winged logo of the company which had brought her here. _A Redcape_, he thought. _They don't normally come over this way; it must be important_.

"Are you Cloud Strife?" Her voice was husky and faintly accented, and he wondered where he had heard the accent before.

"Yes."

She handed him the envelope in a black-gloved hand, extending with her other hand a pen for him to sign with. "May I have your signature." It was not a question.

"What is this?"

Her envious rosebud lips remained unsmiling, though they were not unfriendly. Her bewitching oval-shaped face, cast in shadow from both the waning light and her cloak, was one of near insulting beauty; one that made Cloud both flinch and feel dumbstruck at the same time. He tried not to look directly at her. He could only recall one other woman with such beatific features, though he wouldn't exactly use that word to describe this one. There was something… haunting, about this messenger.

"An invitation, so I believe."

_An invitation? Who would want to invite me anywhere?_

"To what?"

The woman glanced at Tifa. Her blood-red irises set into almond-shaped eyes unnerved Cloud a little, reminding him of Vincent. She must have been exposed to mako at some point in her life; they had that somewhat radioactive glow about them that his own blue eyes possessed. His mind's knee-jerk reaction was to shy away from that notion, but then it made him more curious.

"I cannot disclose that information."

Tifa stepped forward, then. "Why don't you open it and find out, Cloud?" she suggested.

Cloud frowned, took the pen and signed the document anyway. He ripped open the envelope. It was indeed an invitation, from the World Regenesis Organisation, no less. After all these years, Cloud didn't ever expect to hear from them again. It had been too long since he had seen any of them. He was almost certain that Rufus Shinra had been behind the administration, though nobody really knew for sure. All Cloud wanted was to put those days behind him.

Since the saga of Kadaj and his gang was over, there had been relative peace on the continent of Midgar; at least, as close to peace as the people knew. The city of Edge was taking shape nicely, and business was as good as ever, especially since Geostigma had finally been eradicated. Keeping monsters out of the city had been a problem recently, but they had started building electro-static walls to keep them out, which was proving to be efficient.

The invitation read: _"To: Mr. C & Mrs T Strife"_. Cloud snorted; there they go again with the old-married-couple thing. Other than that, it didn't offer much, except for a date, time and a venue – in Wutai. It simply said _"Be there!"_.

Whoever had organised this obviously believed in the element of surprise. He wondered who it could be. Clearly they didn't know Cloud that well; he disliked surprises very much. Yuffie sprung to mind, but he wondered what she, of all people, could possibly want now. Her bubbly nature seemed to fit the invitation, though, he admitted.

He thought about screwing up the note and closing the door, but something stopped him. He flicked his blue eyes up to meet steadfast crimson ones. It seemed this courier had time on her side, which Cloud found peculiar.

"Who sent you?"

She pointed to her badge, a small, intricately designed silver brooch pinned to the red cloak. "The Redcape Academy, of course."

Ask a silly question, get a silly answer. He had hoped to glean some more information from her, but he knew she was just the messenger. He knew how that felt, being a dispatch rider himself.

"I didn't think they delivered on Sundays."

"They don't. I came from Wutai, and I must be back at my base in Mideel before long."

"Wutai?" It was Tifa who spoke. She came to stand in the front. "Why were you sent so far? Could this not have been delivered by post?"

A ghost of a smile passed the woman's lips. "Don't shoot the messenger." With that said, she regarded Cloud once more before turning on her heel and walking away in the snow. She had gotten what she came for.

"Wait," Cloud called, taking a step out into the cold.

She turned around, waited.

"Where are you staying? If…you have more information on this…perhaps…"

He wasn't quite sure what he wanted to ask, or why. It was rather out of character for him to subdue a perfect stranger for his own wants or needs, these days, but something about this woman made him do it.

She stood, appraised him for a moment. He knew she had no obligation to give him any such information – to do so might even be a breach of her employment contract with the company – but Cloud was wagering that she would.

"Midgar. I'll be at the Old Mill Inn until tomorrow morning."

Cloud noticed for the first time a sleek black bike – not unlike his own – parked some distance away. He watched her hop on it with a swift leap. The double-barrelled revolver tucked into her belt, and the brown leather satchel slung over her back, didn't seem to weigh her down one iota. The engine ignited and she sped off down the road without a backward glance.

_The Old Mill Inn it is, then,_ Cloud thought. His fingers grasped the invitation more securely as he went back inside, shutting the door gently behind him.

xXx

Phantom: Oooh what could it be? Stay tuned to find out! ^-^


	2. Chapter 2

Phantom: Thanks to those who have reviewed and added my story to their alert subscriptions. It really is encouraging! ^-^ I hope you enjoy this next instalment.

Two

xXx

"There is no way I'm going to be able to get anyone to cover the bar," Tifa had lamented a short time later, after they had discussed going to this event together. "It would take at least a week to train someone, and I'd need more than just one person to cover me if I was gone. This thing – whatever it is – is next week, right?"

Cloud blinked. On the one hand he knew she was right; they didn't have any other staff to look after the bar, whereas _he_, at least, could take leave from his deliveries whenever he needed to. He simply chose not to, for the sake of wanting to keep himself busy. Then there was Marlene and Denzel to think of. They needed someone to care for them; bringing the kids with them on whatever this invitation entailed was out of the question. Barrett, who was still away on his missions, wouldn't have had a bar of it, if he had been there to comment.

"You go, Cloud, and see what this is all about." Tifa insisted, with mild irritation. "I can hold the fort."

On the other hand, he wasn't exactly looking forward to going. Not until he had more information, anyway. It seemed rather suspect, in truth. It could very well be a trap. He didn't even get the messenger's name, just knew that she was a Redcape who hailed from the since-rebuilt city of Mideel staying at the Old Mill Inn, tonight only. Redcapes didn't often pass through Edge. In truth, they delivered mainly to the Nibelheim area – now that it was starting to get back on its' feet after the many years of arson and ransacking – and around the islands of Mideel.

She must have something to do with this if she was specially sent from Wutai to deliver the message. But what was she doing in Wutai to _start_ with? It was merely a resort town on the westernmost frontier of Gaia. Nobody really went there for any other reason except for a vacation, even though Yuffie's father had claimed to try and revive what the archipelago had lost so long ago. The possibilities were infinite and left Cloud's thoughts muddled.

xXx

Cloud reached down a gloved hand and ripped out a couple of weeds. The patch of bare earth inside the church was merely soil at the moment, being that it was winter. Come spring, the hibernating bulbs would burst through the dirt and flower once again. Cloud knew it was pointless to wish that Aerith would become reborn again in the spring just as the flowers did. But he could pretend.

He didn't like to come to Aerith's place very often during winter; without the flowers it was like her presence had perished altogether. He could feel her more when the flowers were in bloom; could smell her scent, could close his eyes and imagine her standing before him, a basket of yellow lilies in her grasp. He could imagine holding her, stroking her skin as soft as the petals she had once tended to. His ears were often filled with her light, bubbly laughter. Sometimes he would hear it so unexpectedly, he jolted toward the sound, thinking it had to have been real.

She taunted him like that often.

Turning away from the glaringly empty patch of earth, Cloud walked out of the church ruins thinking, wondering, for the millionth time, if he would ever find it in him to set Aerith free.

xXx

The Old Mill Inn was just that – an old flour mill, converted now into a basic hotel. It was rather cosy, Cloud had to admit, one of the few wooden structures still left standing in this concrete jungle. A fire blazed in the communal lounge, which housed several guests at the time being. Cloud attracted a number of momentous stares from people before they went back to their conversations; clearly he wasn't the type of customer that came here often.

A porter came and took his outer layers, brushed the snow off of them and hung them up for him. Cloud briefly thanked him and walked into the restaurant, scanning the room for the woman.

He soon spied a lithe figure seated up at the bar. Her hair – as Cloud could now see – was a nondescript shade of dark brown, pin-straight, and just skimmed her shoulders. It was longer at the front, framing her face in such a way, than it was at the back. Her woollen red cloak was missing from her shoulders, also, leaving only the plain charcoal-grey military-style uniform exposed. He braced himself and advanced toward her.

"Mr. Strife," she greeted him with a demure smile, inclining her head politely.

The man took a seat. "Just 'Cloud', will be fine."

"Cloud, then." Her voice was a little huskier than he would have liked, for a female.

"You never told me your name." he added.

She cocked her head a little. "Was I supposed to?"

He narrowed his eyes a little, then focused on the polished wood of the bar. "No, I suppose not."

"Does it matter?"

He looked up and smiled. "I _would_ like to know who I am speaking to."

Almost as if she hadn't heard him, the woman signalled the barman. "Same again; make it two, hold the olives."

She turned back to him, settling her eyes on him. For a long moment, neither of them spoke, and Cloud was becoming uncomfortable. It was as if she was deciding whether or not to give him the information which he desired.

"My name is Juneaux."

Cloud was about to say he didn't drink, when an alcoholic beverage was slid across the bar to him. He felt paralyzed for a moment as her name rolled around inside his head. _June-oh. _It was a pleasant-sounding name, he decided, albeit foreign. But it suited her, he thought, with her shatteringly beautiful features. He gave her the benefit of the doubt.

Juneaux took a sip of her martini, watching him expectantly. He knew he had to drink his for fear of her taking offense; after all, she _had_ bought it for him. He brought the delicate stemmed glass to his lips and took a taste. It had been many years since he'd touched alcohol, but surprisingly he found it smooth and agreeable to his palate. He vaguely wondered if messengers were allowed alcohol on their stopovers, or if she was breaking the rules.

"Juneaux…?" he drew out, prompting her for a surname.

She nodded. "Yes."

He decided not to press. Obviously she didn't want to give away too much. She had a right to remain cautious, after all.

"What do you want from me, Cloud?"

He gazed at her, trying not to get caught up in the hypnotic red of her eyes. "Tell me all you know about this invitation. Please. Something does not add up."

She arched an eyebrow inquiringly. "What doesn't add up?"

"What were you doing in Wutai?" he decided on being direct.

"The Redcape Academy has just completed building a new outpost there," Juneaux replied coolly. "I've since learnt that I am to be transferred there to make deliveries within Wutai and the western coast of Nibelheim. It is getting busier over that side, and they don't need me in Mideel anymore."

A logical explanation, Cloud thought. Something still seemed amiss, though. He had not seen any Redcapes around Edge prior to her arrival this morning. He, if anyone, should know if they were in town; he was a delivery man himself.

"Then why not set up a post here? Business is getting better by the day in Edge." Cloud suggested.

The woman shrugged unconcernedly. "Don't ask me; I'm just the messenger." She smiled artfully. Something about that smile set him on edge. He gripped the edge of his seat with his free hand.

"Why are you going back to Mideel?"

"To pack up my things and clock out of that post for good." said Juneaux. "I think I will be glad to leave that place. I've been there for so long; it's time for something new. The academy at Wutai is very impressive."

Cloud knew that Redcapes were more than merely couriers. The lands they ventured through were often treacherous, riddled with monsters and mines, and thus they had to be prepared for whatever came at them. They needed years of intense training, and the Redcape Academy, Cloud knew, was one of the most prestigious on the Planet. He didn't doubt that Juneaux was probably a weapon in herself, and probably carried the gun only for the most dire of situations.

"You're not _from_ Mideel, though." He observed, knowing by her accent that was from further afar than that. Plus her skin was ice-pale, implying she was probably from northern lands that saw little sunlight.

"Oh, you _are_ clever." There was that smirk again.

He set his jaw, feeling a furious blush creeping to his cheeks. He didn't like being mocked. "If not there, or here, then where?"

She tilted her head to one side a little. "Curious…" she said, to herself more than to him. "I was raised in the town of Icicle Lodge."

Cloud felt himself go rigid. It was no wonder the snow didn't appear to have bothered her this afternoon; she was from a much colder climate – she was used to it. His throat suddenly went dry and he needed another drink. The only one available happened to be the martini that he clasped loosely in his hand. He picked it up and slugged the whole thing back in a few gulps.

This did not go unnoticed by Juneaux. "I'm sorry…have I upset you?"

"No," he said brusquely, and then turned to the barman. "Same again."

Juneaux circled the rim of her glass with the pad of her middle finger, making the crystal moan. This was becoming a little much for Cloud. She was mildly infuriating in the sense that she was mysterious, but at the same time she radiated a kind of incandescence that Cloud found excruciatingly alluring.

She was a complete stranger, yet he felt magnetized toward her, in the most erotically wanton kind of a way. He vaguely wondered if Aerith was up to some kind of sadistic trick. Perhaps he was just insane, but he already knew that.

"Tell me more about this invitation," Cloud demanded, once he'd been given another drink for his quaking nerves. He felt like he was out of his depth here; he needed to get his answers and leave.

Juneaux looked about the room in a subtle but scrutinizing way. Cloud followed the bloody irises until they rested back upon him. "Perhaps that should be discussed in private."

If Cloud was out of his depth before, he was certainly sinking now. He couldn't recall the last time he'd been "in private" with another person.

"Why?" he croaked, surprised at the weakness of his voice.

Juneaux smiled, her teeth gleaming. "Unless you want the rest of the hotel to know your business?"

He looked around to notice they had attracted some attention. The other hotel guests quickly looked back to what they were doing, but it was obvious they were interested in what the ex-SOLDIER was doing talking to a mysterious woman at the Old Mill Inn on a Sunday evening.

Just about everyone knew who he was; he was the man who defeated Sephiroth, and saved the Planet from what seemed like inevitable doom. He was the one who had brought about the cure for Geostigma, which was no easy feat after that deranged man Kadaj and his sidekicks tried to bring on the apocalypse.

Cloud knew that Juneaux probably already knew who he was before she had met him in the flesh earlier that day; she was merely verifying him as the correct recipient, as any good courier would do.

He exhaled a shuddering breath and looked at her. "Fine. Where should we go?"

"My room is as good a place as any." Juneaux replied indifferently, propping herself up from the bar.

Cloud tried to keep down the knot of nervous tension in the pit of his stomach as he rose from the bar and unthinkingly followed her.

xXx


	3. Chapter 3

Phantom: Thanks again to your reviews and hits! Keep 'em coming! =] (this chapter is a little longer than the previous ones, sorry…)

**Chapter 3**

xXx

Cloud rose from the bar and followed her back out into the corridor, then up a couple of flights of stairs. He studied her sinuous figure, moving up the stairs with a kind of grace that only someone in a profession where stealth and agility were essential would possess. She had been trained to be light on her feet, to be able to sustain movement akin to a hot knife through butter with lightning reflexes.

Even her hair did not swing as she walked, nor could he hear the sound of her footfalls or the breaths she was taking. He knew without a doubt that she could slice his head off in five seconds flat if he threatened her. However, she may or may not have known that Cloud could move in the same way.

He had no idea why his heart was pounding so hard. Maybe it was because he hadn't been alone with a young woman that happened to catch his eye in a very long time? He felt wracked with guilt as he walked up the stairs behind her, thinking of Aerith.

He knew he had a problem.

Aerith had passed away more than five years ago, now. If anything, she would have wanted him to move on. To be _happy_; a concept presently unknown to Cloud.

She would have wanted him to find someone else, eventually…but still. He could not dismiss the guilt he was presently feeling. He wondered if Tifa had picked up his jumbled mood this afternoon. It was unlikely. Then again, she knew him almost too well. She knew how his depression could sometimes become so crippling he couldn't speak, or even move.

In the days and weeks after Aerith's death, he had gone days lying on his bed, or sitting in the same chair, unmoving, not eating, drinking, seeing, or speaking. As if he was in an almost catatonic-like state. Only Tifa had been able to snap him out of it.

Cloud wondered what Zack must think of him now; how he had once been a fearless SOLDIER, ready to take on anything. Zack had been his best friend, and now he, too, was gone. Cloud missed him dearly – as much, if not more, than Aerith. Losing two of the most important people in your life was not something Cloud wished upon anyone.

What would Zack do, right now, if it was him in this situation? Cloud smiled wryly. He would most certainly have taken advantage of it – he was always like that, diving in the deep end head-first. Act now, think later. Cloud knew how Zack had liked his women – curvaceous and dark-haired, with some attitude. It was a shame that Zack and Tifa had not gotten to know each other better. They would have made a nice couple, and Zack had needed someone to keep him grounded.

Who was to say anything was even going to happen, right now? The setting might be perfect, Cloud thought. Alone with an entrancing woman in her hotel room – really – what man would even _try_ and resist? He knew for a fact that Zack would have all but jumped at the chance.

But then the more logical side of his brain reminded him that Juneaux was probably not thinking the same things he presently was. Cloud was merely fantasizing. However, if it was all to go awry then he had nobody to blame but himself. He put himself in this situation by coming here. But she had started it by visiting him with a mysterious envelope this morning…That was the point, he realised, of being here. He sighed mutely, feeling like a disgrace and a failure.

Juneaux unlocked the heavy wooden door and flicked the light switch. The lights did not go on. Groping in the dark, she blindly walked forward and tried to switch on other appliances – nothing was working.

"I guess the snow has caused a power cut." She said nonchalantly. "Good old Shinra, eh."

"There must be a lamp or something in here." Cloud muttered, but before he could blink, he heard the sound of a match being struck, and Juneaux was standing just before him, holding a kerosene lantern.

She was a little taller than him, which irritated him, for some reason. She smiled at him in the dim light and hung the lantern up so it cast a dull glow. The room, as Cloud could now see, was very basic. It was pokey, and had only a single bed, a nightstand and a television, along with a telephone on the wall, and one opening window.

In the corner closest to him was a small circular table and two chairs. He sat down on one of them. Juneaux brought two glasses full of something from the cabinet and sat down on the other one. Cloud tasted the drink, discovering it was something sweet and spicy for the cold weather, and thanked her.

"What makes you so suspicious about this invitation, Cloud?"

He blinked. "I…it's just…so unexpected."

"Why do you always assume the worst?"

He smiled grimly. "So then I may be pleasantly surprised if it doesn't come to that point?"

"But it usually comes to that, doesn't it?"

He glanced at her fleetingly. "Usually."

"You've had a rough life, Cloud. But you and I are not so different, you know."

He frowned and bit the inside of his cheek, knowing she was probably right. "I can see you're well acquainted with Mako." He pointed out, although he didn't really need to state the obvious.

"Like you." She added.

He was quiet, studying the elegant line of her jawbone in the dancing light of the flame. Her skin was the colour of the inside of a seashell; a pale, almost translucent peach. Cloud found himself picturing rubbing his thumb along that jawbone, imagining the velvet beneath his own calloused skin. He felt fire in his loins at that thought.

"I guess you could say I'm…'genetically modified', like most of you SOLDIERS. But I was not trained as a mercenary."

Cloud frowned. "How did you get out?"

"I escaped," she said evenly. "When I was nineteen. I kept on running, for years. Didn't stop until I got to Mideel, where I joined the Redcapes."

So, she was on the run from Shinra. What was she even doing back in Midgar? It was risky, at best. Cloud was reeling at how she had managed to escape from Professor Hojo. It had been hard enough for him and Zack, all those years ago. Surely she must have had some help…Even if she did manage to escape the building, she would have at least gotten caught by security on the perimeter.

"It's dangerous for you to be in your profession…what if the Turks catch you?"

"Why hide all my life, Cloud? Shinra will never find me again. I've put all that behind me." She exhaled. "Besides…the worst is over now. Thanks to you."

Cloud looked down. He never really thought of himself as much of a hero – even though much of the world apparently did. If it weren't for him, the Planet would probably be in a much worse-off state than it was now. He couldn't have done it without the others, though.

He looked up, noticed her red cape hanging up on the back of the door. He was staggered at how she had been able to escape single-handedly. What had Hojo done to modify her? Had he experimented to the extent that she became so strong, she was able to break free?

"What did he…do to you?" he dared to ask.

Juneaux barely flinched as she recalled the memories. "Hojo saw that I was a strong unit from the beginning. He wanted to test my limits, to see how much Mako he could expose me to before I started to decline. As you can tell…he went overboard. My eyes were brown, once."

Cloud cringed a little. "What do you mean by a 'strong unit'?"

"I…fought harder, resisted more…than the others…. He tried to 'enhance' my physical strength. And I was handling it. But then he started talking about Jenova…and that's when I knew I had to get out. I didn't want that vile extraterrestrial's blood in my veins." She spat the last few words out, as if she had an insect in her mouth.

Cloud scrutinized her. How old was she? It was hard to depict. Her face was unlined, and still reserved the rounded suppleness of youth, yet the years of wisdom were evident in her mesmeric eyes. He noticed a small nick on the top of her left cheekbone, only a light scar now after many years of being healed. She was like a closed book, but one that Cloud found himself wanting to open. So, he asked.

"Older than you," was all she replied.

"How do you know how old I am?" Cloud was nearly twenty-five; she didn't look a lot older than that.

"Runners know everything about everyone, Cloud. You should know that." Her mouth went up at one side in a half-smile.

"But I don't know anything about _you_." Cloud's nostrils flared. "Except that you say you're from Icicle Lodge,"

"Yes. I came to Midgar looking for work."

A sudden thought chilled him and his eyes widened. "You're not…a…an Ancient?"

"No." Juneaux replied, a little brusquely, and was subdued for a moment, before adding, "Not like Aerith."

Cloud felt his insides lurch in hearing her name spoken out loud. It had been so long since he'd heard it. Tifa and the others were often careful not to mention her name too often, as they knew how sensitive Cloud was about the subject. He knew it was likely that Juneaux would have known – or at least known _of_ – Aerith, if she had originated in Icicle Lodge, and perhaps that was what he was probing her for – information, perhaps unknown to him, of his one true love.

"You knew her?"

"Not well. We lived in the same slum in Midgar. But after I was incarcerated by Shinra, I had to flee and continue my way south if I ever had a hope of surviving. I never saw her again…and Sephiroth was on the warpath by then."

Cloud was torn. Not only that, he felt himself shaking, his eyes burning. He wanted to ask her more, see if she knew anything more about Aerith that he didn't know, if that was even possible. Cloud thought he knew every single thing about Aerith Gainsborough there was to know. He had explored every inch of her satin skin. He had lost himself in the jade depths of her eyes far too many times. She was his, and then, all at once, she was not.

"Everyone here in the south always spoke of your great love for each other, Cloud."

Apparently, Cloud's love life had also taken centre-stage throughout the whole Sephiroth ordeal. He didn't appreciate that, being the private man that he was.

"It was a long time ago," he mumbled, his voice sounding raspy. He took another swig of the sweet concoction that Juneaux had given him, feeling a little calmer.

All of a sudden, the lights flickered back on. Cloud squinted until his vision adjusted to the glare. The woman sat deathly still, watching him in mild amusement. A shimmer of what appeared to be curiosity coated her cerise-coloured eyes, and something more….

It was rare that Cloud met anyone these days that actually enjoyed his company, bar Tifa and the children. He wasn't much fun to be around, he knew. Being a man of few words, and shy by nature, Cloud wasn't exactly what you'd call the life of the party. But the look Juneaux gave him now was surprising to him. Perhaps he hadn't gotten the wrong idea after all.

He glanced up at her gentle, seductive scrutiny, and then back down to the table, all within a nanosecond. Absurdly, he wasn't entirely sure what to do. She appeared interested, and he certainly found himself interested in return, but what to do from here?

He had now finished his drink – he wanted another, wanted to stay – but how to ask? _Why_ did he even want to stay? He should have gone home long before now. Juneaux had not extended any invitations of her own accord. But she hadn't asked him to leave, either. Cloud's head was feeling giddy in a warm, pleasant way, and he realised that this cider-type drink must have also been alcoholic. Being that he hadn't drunk in several years, Cloud wondered in fact how drunk he actually was. He dare not stand up to find out.

"It's been a while since you've come out of your shell, hasn't it, Cloud?"

So that's what she was so curious about. "You could say that."

"I think you should accept the invite to Wutai," Juneaux coaxed. "You could have some fun, and some time off work might do you good."

He frowned. The word 'fun' was not even in Cloud's vocabulary. "So you _do_ know what the invitation is about."

She smiled in a catlike way that reminded Cloud of a character out of a fairytale book, but she said nothing. Cloud felt a shiver of excruciating fury run down his spine, a riot of emotions he couldn't quite decipher toiling through him. He wanted to shred her to pieces with his buster blade for not giving away any information, but at the same time he ached to touch the velvet skin, to run his hands down that agile body. It was perplexing to say the least.

"You're not going to tell me what it's about, are you?" he said through grit teeth, already feeling the mako starting to surge through his veins.

"It's a surprise."

"I don't like surprises."

She let out a lusty laugh. "Then I guess you'll have to…force it out of me?"

Having someone converse in a playful yet torturous way – to _flirt_, so to speak – was a new concept to Cloud. He had never experienced it, except for the odd woman trying to come onto him in social situations a few years back, when he actually used to socialize.

This, though – _this_ was different. He found himself almost wanting to play along, but he had no idea how. Still, he felt a strange feeling that he hadn't felt before, and it bordered on hysteria.

It was like a switch had flicked on inside him, after a life of long being dormant, and it was all he could do from mauling the woman opposite him in a hormone-induced rage. In a motion so fluid he surprised even himself, Cloud was on his feet, the table airborne across the room. It hit the wall with a loud clatter, smashing into pieces. Before the man could even think, or see through the haze of fury and lust that marred his vision, he pounced.

With his full body weight he pinned her to the floor, grabbing her by her neck, his lips crushed against hers in some kind of urgent, erotic frenzy. She flew – still in her chair – backward toward the window.

What the _hell_ was in this _drink_?

His mechanical mind was now overridden with rage and lust and panic, and the sensitive, passionate, _intimate_ Cloud that he had kept locked up and hidden away from the world he feared had now become unleashed.

Over time, that side of him had festered and had been left unchecked. It was nobody's fault but his own, but now that the opportunity had presented itself, that side of him that he kept so private – once for Aerith's eyes only – had turned into a caged, maniacal animal that needed some form of release.

_Cloud, think about this. What are you doing? _

It was only then – hearing her voice – that the haze cleared for a fraction of a second. During that fraction, Juneaux squirmed beneath him, her lips moulding to his overly eager ones, and then with an almighty burst of vigour, she fought him off with a solid clout across the face.

Juneaux gasped for breath like a dying animal once she'd managed to free herself from his merciless assailment. Cloud realised in his assault that he had damn-near suffocated the woman, and felt flushed and hotly embarrassed when he saw the red marks on her throat from his own hands.

He tore himself away from her and sat up onto his knees, straddling her. Panting, getting his own breath back, he wondered what in the fresh _Hell_ he had just done. Juneaux lay there, breathing heavily, and then, struggling, propped herself up onto her elbows. Cloud touched his face where she had slapped him. It was tingling and felt tender, but not as bruised as his self-worth right now.

They stared at each other for a long moment, mako coursing through their veins, eyes radioactive as never before.

Abruptly, a knock sounded at the door, interrupting them. Cloud visibly stiffened; Juneaux remained wide-eyed.

"Is everything alright in here, madam? Another guest has reported hearing some strange noises."

Juneaux cleared her throat. "Just fine, thank you." She called.

"We do apologize for the power outage. If there is anything we can get you, please let us know."

They heard footsteps fading away down the hall, then looked back to each other.

Juneaux gazed at him with wide-eyed fear and wonder, and then a moment later she was laughing. "I didn't mean that literally," she said in a raspy voice. "Forcing it out of me, that is."

"I'm sorry," Cloud's breath exploded.

He felt so vulnerable and exposed, his hands shaking relentlessly, heart thundering. "That was…I don't even know what that was…I should go…" he scrambled to get up from atop of her.

Cloud felt his face was about to spontaneously combust. He could never remember feeling so mortified in all his life. At least Juneaux was laughing, however, and not trying to put a bullet through his head. Laughter was the last thing he had expected to come from _that_.

He shook his head and stood up, unable to even find the words for what had just happened. He turned for the door, leaving her sprawled on the floorboards, too ashamed to even help her to her feet. He was mentally and emotionally paralyzed.

"You're quick, I'll give you that."

"Huh?"

"Too quick, even for _me_." She grinned in that wily, catlike way.

He snorted. For some reason, with that grin, she reminded him of Zack.

"Cloud,"

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and a quiet chuckle come from behind him.

"Don't be sorry. You surprised me, that's all."

He felt himself burning up, sure he must have been pink as a grapefruit. "I…I…uh…"

Cloud was beyond confused at what had just happened – something about the way Juneaux spoke, held herself, looked at him, simply _existed_ – made him _crazy_, apparently causing him to have a psychotic episode in which he absolutely had no reign over himself, resulting in a testosterone-driven assault on her.

Had she encouraged him? Yes. She had more or less invited it. And she _had_ kissed him back momentarily, however, before driving him off with a brutal open-palmed rebuff that had resounded against the walls of the room like a whip being cracked.

Did she have this effect on everyone? Cloud wondered. He couldn't recall a time where a woman had driven him so insane merely by her presence that he'd actually wanted to jump her. He had been mesmerized by Aerith when he'd first met her, but had kept his hormones in check. Since then, he'd kept the _real_ Cloud locked up for so long that he wondered if that side of him even still existed.

Apparently, it did.

Maybe Juneaux was _supposed_ to cross his path, serving merely as an outlet for his sexual reawakening. That sounded crass, Cloud thought. Nevertheless, he felt like a bumbling idiot. He'd more or less sexually assaulted her, which he would never have thought himself capable of doing, to _anyone_. But he would have taken it further, probably, if she'd given herself up to him.

It was still wrong; Cloud had witnessed things like that more times than he cared to. He knew how traumatic events scarred people. And now _he_ had been the perpetrator. How was he going to rectify this situation? He knew he was a screw loose, but _this_? This was going to prey on his mind until the matter was resolved.

"I'll see you in Wutai, okay?" Juneaux spoke, trying to diffuse the tension.

"You'll be there?"

She nodded. "I…I can't tell you what it's all about. It will ruin the surprise. Just come."

Cloud frowned. So he would see her again. For some indistinct reason, that gave him reassurance.

"…alright."

Cloud stood in the doorway now, watching the blood-red irises gazing back at him. It appeared they now held pity for him, and sadness. Now Juneaux knew what he was capable of, and perhaps it _was_ tragic that he'd kept that side of himself buried – so long so, that once it had been unleashed, it had spun out of control in a violent ferocity. Juneaux just so happened to be on the receiving end of it.

Cloud cringed in inner turmoil to think of what might have happened had it been Aerith. She'd never have spoken to him again, _that_ he could be sure of. But how was it any better that it had been Juneaux, a perfect stranger? Another wave of guilt and shame overcame him, thinking about it. What would Aerith think of him now, having done this?

"Goodnight, Cloud."

He nodded. "Goodnight."

There was nothing more he could say or do to put right the absurd situation. Cloud shook his head and cursed profusely under his breath the whole way home, thinking that somehow, he was going to be the undoing of himself.

xXx

Phantom: You have no idea how many times I rewrote this chapter! This had to have been one of the most challenging scenarios I've ever done, but finally I am satisfied with it. I wanted to try and make it as realistic-sounding as possible…What did you think? Please let me know in a review! =]


	4. Chapter 4

Phantom: Here with another update! Hope you enjoy :]

**Chapter 4**

xXx

"You look so handsome, Cloud!" Marlene shrieked in delight.

"Real snazzy! What do you think, Tifa?" Denzel sounded pretty pleased with himself

Awkwardly, Cloud stumbled out of the changing room, the trouser legs a little too long for his 5'7" frame. He was clad from top to toe in a black suit and tie that all fit rather snugly. It was not the type of clothing he was used to, but he knew he couldn't rock up to this invitation in Wutai in his usual getup, being that the dress code was 'black tie'.

Tifa sat with her legs crossed on a stool, just outside the fitting room in the menswear store. Denzel and Marlene were inside helping Cloud get dressed, since Cloud literally had no idea how to do up a tie. Denzel had practiced on Rude a few times to get the hang of how to do his school tie, now that he was in his first year of secondary school.

Tifa stood up and nodded, appraising the young blonde man. "Looks good, Cloud. You should get it." She winked.

Cloud looked back at himself in the mirror and blanched. The tailored suit fit his physique perfectly, and even he had to admit to himself that it made him look fit and attractive. He thought with irony back to when he had first joined Shinra, and how ashamed he had been of being the smallest, scrawniest cadet. He had been teased badly over it, but he was determined on showing them up. Now, over a decade later, he had reached 1st Class and was one of the most renowned SOLDIERS to ever walk the Planet. Many of the cadets he trained with in his early years never even made it to infantryman status.

Over the years since then, he'd maintained his SOLDIER'S body, but somewhat concealing it underneath his usual baggy black clothing and riding leathers. After all, being a delivery boy was still a physical job. Cloud couldn't remember the last time he'd had to wear a suit, though – if he'd _ever_ had to, even. Shinra uniforms and plain black apparel to blend into the crowd was about as far as his wardrobe ever went.

It was Sunday, a week to the day since all this had started. Since his rendezvous with the Redcape woman last Sunday evening, Cloud's dreams had been plagued with visions, mostly involving Zack Fair.

He was baffled, to say the least, and often woke in a cold sweat with a feeling of great urgency or importance, as if he was late for work, or something akin to that. He couldn't work it out; it was like Zack was trying to tell him something, but _what_? And more to the point, _why_? Perhaps it was because he was going to Wutai, and Cloud knew well that one of Zack's first missions as a SOLDIER had been in Wutai.

Today was the day Cloud was due to depart on his _own_ mission to Wutai. Not that it was really a mission. He could relax and take his time riding Fenrir, and apart from the odd monster or ten, there shouldn't be any real threats on his way there. It would take just under a week to get to Wutai from Edge, taking the long way by land across the two largest continents.

Cloud had not embarked on a lengthy expedition like this in a long time, and was quietly looking forward to the ride, where he could reflect on things, and take the luxury of time to think about nothing as he rode the long highways. He wondered what passing through Nibelheim would be like, or if it was even really worth going out of his way for; he hadn't been back there since…the incident.

His plan was to take the ferry to Costa Del Sol, then ride to North Corel, on to Rocket Town, then catching another ferry to the island continent of Wutai. It shouldn't take any longer than four days, if he hurried, but he planned on making it in five.

"Well, I guess I'll see ya, Cloud." Tifa stood on the front step with the kids at her side.

Cloud nodded. "I won't be gone long."

"Two weeks is _ages_!" Marlene lamented, huffing a little.

"You'll blink and I'll be back, I promise." Cloud smiled, bent down and hugged her, and then roughed up Denzel's hair. "Call me if you need anything."

Tifa glanced at him sceptically. "You don't answer your phone anyway, Cloud. Besides, what can you do all the way in Wutai? You can't be two places at once."

He could tell Tifa was slightly miffed about not being able to go, too, but he shrugged it off. "I can try. You know I'd come straight home if I had to, Tifa."

She sighed. "I know, I know. Go on, then. We'll see you in a fortnight."

"Be careful!" Marlene shrieked.

Cloud ignited the engine of his bike, bid everyone a last farewell, and then floored it, setting out westward toward the coast. He would be glad to leave the city of Edge behind him, at least for a little while.

xXx

It did not take long for Cloud to reach the outskirts of Midgar, the massive floating plates looming in the distance. Plumes of smoke spewed from the mako reactors encircling the enormous city, in a way sheltering the nucleus of their creator – Shinra.

Cloud grit his teeth and careered down the highway, past the heaving, overpopulated capital. He didn't plan to stop until he reached the fringes, where the wastelands began. It was high time he stopped by Zack's resting place, again. Perhaps, Cloud thought, if he stopped there for a while, he could contemplate on the events of the past week, the vivid dreams he had been having, and hopefully shed some light on it all.

Cloud accelerated until he reached the crest of the hill; a place he wished he could forget, in some ways, yet was terrified to forget, in other ways. Though he knew he would never forget the man buried here. Zack had made his mark on Cloud long ago, and was now like a tattoo that could not be erased.

Soon, the rusted old buster blade came into view, and a hard knot promptly rose to Cloud's throat. He shut off Fenrir's engine and sat for a moment, his eyes involuntarily welling up, fixed to the giant sword that was embedded in the dirt. He never was good with the whole grieving thing, but this was ridiculous. Zack had been gone longer than Aerith, yet it never seemed to hurt any less.

_What is going _on_, Zack?_ Cloud wondered, mildly frustrated. He really wished Zack was here in the flesh so he could ask him and receive an answer in return. Zack always had an answer for everything. The deceased man was one of the few people Cloud could share his most private thoughts and musings with, even in death. Still, it was rare he voiced them out loud.

_Why, now, do I keep seeing you in my dreams? And this woman…Juneaux, who _is_ she? I haven't been the same since I met her. I feel like…Did you know her? I thought I was finally starting to get a hold of myself and get on with it, but this feels like a spanner in the works, you know? Zack… I wish you were here…at least you could tell me to snap out of it, or something. And I would. I would listen to you…_Cloud sighed audibly, grinding his jaw. _Just when I thought I had it all figured out, I feel lost again. I need you to be my light. Give me a sign, Zack…anything…_

A singular tear made its way down Cloud's face and plummeted to the parched earth below. With a heavy heart, Cloud turned, and rode away into the desert.

xXx

The city of Wutai was not like what Cloud remembered. Barely a rundown settlement brought to its knees by Shinra the last time he passed through, it was now a vibrant town filled with sunny streets, quaint gardens, grand monuments, imperial temples and ancient pagodas. The main strip that ran along the waterfront was currently chock-full of people, and new resorts and attractions seemed to have popped up overnight.

Scarlet red banners and flags hung from the buildings and street lamps, flapping in the wind, obviously in celebration of whatever this "event" entailed… It probably all had something to do with the new Redcape Academy outpost, being that red was obviously the signature colour. Cloud wondered vaguely if there would be anyone else here that he might know. There appeared to be a lot of out-of-towners here; most of the passersby looked like tourists.

Riding up on Fenrir, Cloud arrived outside his final destination. The grand palace, home to the royal family of Wutai, was the venue for the celebration tonight – at least, according to the invitation. No prizes for guessing _that_ one. Cloud had known from the outset that Yuffie had to have been the instigator of all of this. He smiled a little to himself. He hadn't seen her since the incident of Sephiroth's remnants, and wondered what had happened to her since then. She was like Vincent, in a way – so elusive, always coming and going – but always seeming to show up at the right time.

It was dusk. Cloud checked himself in to one of the new resorts by the seaside and was escorted to his room, which wasn't exactly luxurious, but it would do for a couple of nights. He marvelled at the view he had from his balcony. It was such a nice change from the grey, dismal landscape of Midgar.

Since Godo Kisaragi had surrendered to Shinra troops all those years ago after the Wutai War, the island had wholly rejuvenated itself. The seas were clearer, the beaches pristine, and the local inhabitants certainly appeared happier. The sunset was a spectacle, as well, showing off in a display of glorious colours of sultry lavender, molten reds, yellows and flamboyant pinks. Cloud could also make out the now-defunct mako reactor looming in the distance near Da Chao Mountain, but it appeared that nobody really took much notice of it.

He shuddered inwardly, knowing that he had, in a way, been involved in the fall of Wutai, way back when he was an amateur Shinra infantryman. Zack, with the help of Angeal, had taken care of the remaining resistance at Fort Tamblin, bringing the island nation to surrender. Cloud wondered if Zack had even realised what he was getting himself into, joining SOLDIER. Cloud surely didn't, when he had joined, but wished he had known better.

How wrong it was.

At the time – and sometimes, even to this day – he hadn't felt like he was good for much else, except to become a mercenary. Nibelheim had not held much promise in the way of a future for Cloud; he wanted bigger, brighter things for himself. Now he wished he hadn't been so naïve.

Exhausted, now that his journey across the Planet was at an end – at least for a few days – Cloud stripped off and climbed onto the bed. He still had a few hours left before the gathering commenced, and so thought he might take a nap. He rubbed his naked arm, where Geostigma had once harboured itself, and where the pink ribbon had once been. Cloud had finally found it in him to cut the ribbon off; a significant moment of moving forward, at least to him. Tifa had done the same, saying that Aerith would have been proud.

As he drifted off, his thoughts wandered. Juneaux made an appearance in his mind's eye; he wondered if he might see her here tonight. She had said that she would be in Wutai, before he'd taken his leave from her hotel, embarrassed to high hell after their little – err – _incident_. He envisioned the smooth lines of her facial structure in his mind, her seashell coloured skin, the fine dark veil of her hair framing her face, and the sinuous way in which she walked.

Then his thoughts wandered to Aerith. He'd always had a hard time dealing with her death, but now he had come to acceptance of that – or, as close to acceptance as was possible. What he questioned himself about now was whether she really, _truly_ loved him, the way he had her.

Cloud knew how much she had adored Zack when they first met, how terribly she missed him over the years of never seeing him as he had been assigned on his missions. The letters she wrote to him, how she never got to say goodbye… Cloud had never really had a moment to say goodbye to _her_, though. Her untimely and gruesome demise at the hands of Sephiroth would be something Cloud could never erase from his memory. It was embossed upon his brain like scar tissue that simply would not fade.

Perhaps Aerith's only true love _had_ been Zack, but Zack was too blind to see it. Cloud could never be a replacement for Zack, he knew. Not as a SOLDIER or otherwise. Perhaps Aerith had leaned on Cloud in his absence, as a comforter. No matter what the reason, Cloud had fallen hard for her, and was all the more devastated after her death.

She had never actually said those three fateful words to him – and neither had Cloud to her – but somehow he didn't think they needed to be said. The times they had been on dates, held hands, kissed, and on the few occasions that they had found the place and time to secretly make love…all those things that lovers should do, were among the fondest memories Cloud had. Like Zack, Aerith had been Cloud's first, his all, his only. He had been with no one else, before or since.

'_To have loved and lost is better than to have not loved at all'_, was the saying that Cloud recalled Tifa saying to him once. It was one of the many things she had said to comfort him in his time of grief, but that saying had particularly stuck with him.

What, then, if you loved that person lost, but they never loved _you_ in the first place? Does that even count? Cloud wondered. It was not something he hadn't given much thought to, until now. For the first time in his life, Cloud was doubting Aerith's love for him.

_Oh Cloud, you're so silly sometimes… _

There she was again, intruding on his thoughts. Tormenting him. It happened often while he slept, more so when he was in the limbo of sleep and being conscious.

Cloud had loved Aerith absolutely. But he had loved Zack, too, in a way that confused him to this day. To say he had idolized the black-haired SOLDIER was an understatement. He'd grown a bond of such trusting friendship and closeness with Zack that it almost bordered on intimacy, although Cloud was never quite sure about that.

He knew he preferred women, and he knew that Zack did, too, but what they had with each other was…special. They would embrace each other often, and frequently slept side by side over the years on their missions, not hesitating to put their arms around each other, if only to keep warm. Zack had carried him across half a continent when he was out of his mind with mako poisoning. They would have died for each other. Zack _did_ die for him.

Cloud had had the occasional erotic dream about the man, who was admirable in all respects – a bronzed body like a God, scarred from years in the military; eyes that gleamed like the ocean, and hair as dark and glossy as liquid tar. Upon waking, this left Cloud feeling confused, and he'd never really been able to look Zack in the eye for a few days afterward. All Cloud knew was that Zack was the only man who had made him feel like that, who made his heart gallop a notch faster than usual, who made him stammer over his words at inconvenient times.

Cloud had never looked at any other man the same way he had looked at Zack, and he doubted he ever would. He was not one to conform, in any case, but he didn't believe that feeling affection toward one man made him fall into the criteria of those who prefer the same sex, or even both sexes. Cloud appreciated the appeal of masculinity, but he longed for the feminine essence of a woman more.

_You've got to let it go, man! Come on…_

Cloud finally slipped into oblivion and slept a dreamless sleep, which was a delightful reprieve from the voices and ghosts of his past forever haunting him.

xXx

Phantom: For those of you who are pro CloTi, I'm sorry to disappoint ^^;; this isn't exactly a Clerith fic, per se (since she is dead, duh xD you will only see/hear from her in Cloud's flashbacks), but I do hope Juneaux has made a good impression thus far as you'll be seeing a lot more of her! :] Until next time, R&R please!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

xXx

Cloud woke to find to find the pillow beneath his head damp. Crying…in his sleep…_again_? Very few times he had woken to the same occurrence, but not for years, now. Occasionally, in the freshest stages of his grief, Cloud had woken to a damp pillow. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, then looked out the window to the ocean, glistening now in the moonlight.

By now, darkness had crept over the land, with the stars and a sickle moon being the only sources of natural light. He checked the time, only to find he was already late. His hotel was located within walking distance to the palace, so he didn't fret. Who wanted to be the first to arrive at a party, anyway? Taking his time, he showered, got dressed into his newly purchased suit, coiffed his hair and finally exited the premises, making sure to take his card key with him.

It felt strangely odd not to have his heavy boots and usual leather drapery on, and even odder not to have the buster sword affixed like usual. He didn't think it would be appropriate to take it with him tonight, though; it might look a little garish. He didn't want to scare people.

The sky above was a black vault, frenetic with stars and comets shooting every which way. Cloud smiled, remembering the beautiful manifestation of the skies over Wutai, from long ago. Nowhere else on the Planet could you find such a beautiful, glittering night sky.

He remembered telling Aerith about it; she, the girl who was once too scared to venture out into the daylight, had longed to visit Wutai just to see the stars. Cloud had said he would take her there one day, but she had never gotten the chance to witness it. The pollution over Midgar unfortunately prevented such a natural spectacle to be seen by the naked eye.

Lost in thought, Cloud didn't realise when he had arrived outside the palace gates, which were open at present, and decorated in cheer. Upon looking at it, he wondered how he might've missed it. The whole place was decorated in lights, with lanterns, decorations and banners hanging from every possible jutting-out thing there was. People were milling around outside, enjoying the balmy evening, drinking champagne and dining on canapés. Cloud made his way through the crowds and into the main banquet hall, searching for familiar faces. He hoped that at least he would know _someone_ here.

"Well, it's about _time_ you showed up!"

Cloud was relieved to see Yuffie, clad in a rather avant-garde white cocktail dress, but upon seeing the scowl on her face, he realised she was more than likely about to reprimand him.

"Yuffie, I –"

"You're _late_, that's what you are!" she shrieked, stamping her foot.

He couldn't stifle the laugh; she did look rather cute when she was mad. "You can hit my arm, if it would make you feel better?"

Yuffie noticed for the first time that Cloud was wearing a suit, and though his arms were covered, she knew he was now cured of Geostigma. She smiled brightly at him and punched his arm for argument's sake.

"I'm glad you could make it, Cloud. Where's your wife?"

Cloud frowned a little. "Wife?"

"Tifa!"

He steeled himself. "We're not married, Yuffie. Where does everyone keep getting that idea from?"

Yuffie blushed. "I think we all just assumed it would happen, some day…"

Cloud ignored that. "She couldn't make it. I was delivered the invitation on short notice and she couldn't get anyone to cover the bar, or watch the kids."

She appeared disappointed. "This always happens when I organise something! Oh well, at least everyone else managed to make it. Come on, I'll get you a drink."

Cloud followed the petite woman through the clusters of people, to an elongated table upon which were many kinds of beverages and intricate-looking Wutaian fare to choose from. A giant crystal bowl was in the centre of the table, filled with a milky-white coloured substance, with red berries floating around in it. Yuffie scooped out a glass for Cloud and handed it to him.

He looked at it dubiously and swished it around in the glass a bit.

"It's Banora white fruit punch," she informed him. "Try it! I'm sure you'll like it, although it's quite potent."

"Dumbapple juice," he murmured, remembering Zack telling him about them.

Cloud was pretty sure he wasn't going to like it, but took the glass and sipped it anyway. Surprisingly, while strong, it wasn't as bad as he thought. He could definitely taste the alcohol, though, and made a note to pace himself tonight. He didn't want anymore psychotic episodes occurring again, especially knowing Juneaux would probably make an appearance at some stage.

"Thanks, Yuffie…But, what's the reason for all this?" he gestured to the room at large.

"Well…Father has pretty much built Wutai from the ground up since the incident at Fort Tamblin all those years ago and…people are starting to come back here, now. The Redcape Academy has just built a new outpost on Resurrection Mountain, which is an important milestone to have achieved here. It means we have enough business to need our own shipping company! Some of them are here tonight, to promote business."

The man frowned. "But what does that have to do with WRO and AVALANCHE?"

"I just thought it would be a great opportunity for us all to catch up! You know…it's been nearly two years since we've all seen each other…and our base used to be here in Wutai, remember? I thought it would be…kind of fitting, I guess."

Cloud nodded in understanding, and Yuffie then excused herself, off to see to other guests. He let his blue eyes roam the banquet hall lazily, and then caught sight of a familiar mane of black hair. The general stance of the figure was also one that Cloud was acquainted with.

"Vincent," he said, advancing toward him.

The man turned at the sound of his name. "Cloud," with a nod.

Cloud smiled one of his rare smiles at him. Vincent was someone Cloud had time for; he had covered Cloud's behind on more than one occasion, and the two could relate with their pasts, both having been 'specimens' in their early lives. The blood red eyes that Vincent had acquired as a result were not unlike Juneaux's, Cloud thought. He, too, was dressed in formal attire, but kept the red bandana on as well as the gold arm gauntlet, and his feet stuck out a mile like usual from the sabatons.

"Who else is here?" Cloud asked.

"I saw Shelke Rui, before."

"And Shalua?"

"I don't know," Vincent said with a shrug. "Nobody knows what became of her, not even Shelke, I don't think."

"It's a shame she couldn't be here," Cloud said.

"I believe Reeve is here, as well, and Barret."

"Barret's here?" Cloud was genuinely surprised.

Vincent indicated the direction in which he might be. "Let's go and find him."

Standing among another crowd of people was the hulking figure of Barret Wallace – you couldn't miss him. With him were Reeve Tuesti and his latest Cait Sith creation, the lean figure of Cid Highwind and the petite Shelke Rui. All were dressed to the nines with the men in suits – which was a sight to behold given Cid and Barret – and Shelke looking resplendent in a draping rose-pink coloured gown clinging to her girl-sized body.

"Cloud, you little wise-ass! How long's it been since I've seen you, boy?"

As usual, Cid stunk to the high heavens of cigarettes and booze and was just as crude as ever. Despite this, Cloud was surprised at how glad he was to see him.

"Cloud? It can't be! Strifey! What are you doing here, knucklehead?"

Before Cloud even had a moment to reply to Cid's uncouth greeting, he found himself enclosed in an asphyxiating bear hug from Barret. After a few moments he had to shove the large man off of himself so he could breathe.

"To answer your question, I was invited, just like the rest of you. How are you, Barret?" Cloud said, slightly annoyed. Now his hair was all out of place.

"_I'm_ doing just fine. How's my baby girl? Damn, I miss her so much, Cloud…"

Cloud went on to tell Barret about how Marlene was doing, as well as Denzel and Tifa, and just about everyone else they knew mutually who now lived in Edge. Barret was still deeply involved in his research up near the Northern Crater, where he had been stationed for years. Cid was still running his airship _Shera_; having now joined an aviation company in Kalm teaching young pilots how to fly. Shelke informed Cloud that Shalua had been missing for many years, presumed dead, after an expedition to Cosmo Canyon that she had never returned from. In her absence, Shelke had set up her own research foundation dubbed Rui Enterprises.

Yuffie soon came and rejoined the group, sidling up to Vincent, and she was positively glowing. Her invitations to Wutai had been a success, and now everybody was catching up with each other, deep in conversation and having the odd laugh, just like old times. She only hoped that long may it continue.

xXx

The night drew on, and the guest's attention was soon disrupted by an announcement that Godo Kisaragi would be making a speech. Cloud, who had been caught up in conversation with Cid, turned toward the front, listening half-heartedly and sipping on his champagne. His eye wandered the other guests of the ball; not many he recognized – he still hadn't seen Juneaux – but he did notice several other Redcapes subtly interspersed between random guests. Cloud wondered vaguely how much business they were going to make out of this "conference" tonight. He also recognised a few other AVALANCHE soldiers who had obviously been invited by Yuffie, too.

Somewhere near the back he finally spied Juneaux, who had just walked in, standing with a rather tall, staunch looking man dressed in a black suit with a red tie. The most shocking feature about him was his crazy, hot pink hair. He was ruggedly handsome, in an odd sort of a way. Cloud read his body language, interpreting it as nonchalant but somewhat defensive as he leaned in close to Juneaux, with his hands in his pockets. Cloud frowned, wondering what sort of a relationship the two had. Despite that, though, he was pleased to see her, and felt his heart quicken.

For what seemed like eons, the ageing monarch of Wutai burbled on about how he had brought the island nation from rags to riches once again in this post-war age. He especially made a point of gloating about the new Redcape Academy outpost stationed on Resurrection Mountain, and encouraged those who were interested to attend the open day on the morrow. Anybody was welcome to go and take a look at the impressive new outpost and its training facilities.

With a mighty clash of glasses and goblets, everybody toasted the elderly ruler and swigged back their drinks joyously, cheering for the freedom of Wutai and its' uprising in the new age. Nectar of fruit of the vine was flowing freely by now, as was the fermented brew of hops and elderflower, and the giant crystal bowl of banora white fruit punch that was available for all and sundry. Guests were already showing signs of loosening up to enjoy the festivities of the night as the music and entertainment began to liven up.

Cloud was about to help himself to another glass of punch when he felt a hand on his arm. He flinched momentarily out of habit – then realised there was no need to.

"So you decided to come, after all." Juneaux smiled directly at him, in a genuine way. Not at all cunning, or catlike.

Cloud felt chills run down his spine. She looked dazzling in a backless, scarlet gown, with her dark hair pulled back away from her face. Most inconveniently, he found himself unable to speak, and so merely blushed and looked at the ground.

Juneaux noticed his discomfort. "Want to go outside for a while?"

Cloud nodded and as she turned toward the double doors at the end of the hall, he dutifully followed her, drink in hand.

It was a still, warm evening on the island of Wutai, with the maritime winds of spring turning the air balmy and humid. The 'winterless west' as it was known. The gardens of the royal palace were both extensive and impressive, with oriental style lanterns strung up around the trees, and cobblestoned pathways lit with tiny lights, to give off an almost romantic ambience. Cloud noticed other couples and groups standing around the gardens, talking and drinking, laughing. It appeared that everyone was enjoying themselves.

They walked down the garden pathway until they came to a quaint garden rotunda. Cloud studied the defined muscles of Juneaux's back and shoulders as she walked. The woman was muscular; not in the way that he was, but in an agile way that proved her physical prowess, and pointed to the hard labour of her job. Her thick hair was pulled away from her face into a slick roll at the back of her head, accentuating the attractive angles of her face. He noticed she wore no jewellery, and very scant makeup, though she needed it not.

"Kind of seems like you're just here to advertise your business." Cloud observed.

Juneaux leaned back against the side of the rotunda. "It was Kisaragi's idea to invite a few of us here tonight. Couldn't really decline a royal invitation, you know."

"It's not a bad idea."

She shrugged. "I've already had a few prospects approach me tonight. I think he wanted to attract as many people here tonight as possible."

"Yuffie must have had a say in it, too," Cloud said. "Otherwise the members of the WRO and AVALANCHE wouldn't have come. I wouldn't have been invited."

"That's true...or you could have just come, anyway." She said with a sneaky smile.

Cloud frowned a little at that. "To see you?"

"Why not?"

Cloud felt himself go red again. Damn him and his pale complexion. He wasn't entirely sure what to say in answer to that; technically there _was_ nothing to stop him, but he didn't know _why_ he wanted to keep seeing this woman in the first place. This was only the second time he'd met her. It was like she had him under a spell…

"I…I wish I could understand what it is about you…that makes me want to keep coming back." He said earnestly.

She cocked her head and lifted her shoulder slightly. "Perhaps...I remind you of someone?"

Cloud looked down. "You do..."

"Who?"

He scrutinized her a moment. She was entirely foreign, almost with the look of someone who was native to Wutai. Obviously Cloud had not known her before now, but there was just…_something_ about her that was so familiar. It was as if something inside his mind was screaming and jumping up and down, yet no one could hear it. Then, like a switch flicked in his brain, Cloud finally thought he'd put his finger on it.

"When you lived in Midgar, did you ever know anyone by the name of Zack Fair?"

A glimmer of recognition sparked in Juneaux's eyes for a moment, and then died away. Cloud was unsure as to whether he imagined it or not.

"I knew _of_ him..." she sighed a little. "Look, Cloud. What happened that night at the inn should best be forgotten about."

The man frowned and an unexpected streak of anger passed through him. _That_ particular incident should have been forgotten about, sure, but what about future…incidents?

"You're probably right. But it doesn't mean…that I don't want to keep seeing you."

She stared at him. "It would never work."

Cloud felt his heart drop like a stone.

"Why not?"

"I barely know you, for a start." she smiled wryly.

"Th-then – then let me take you out." Cloud stammered, forgetting his nerves for a moment. "Tomorrow?" _Where did _that_ just come from?_

Juneaux raised her eyebrows. She seemed frankly surprised at this proposal. Whether it was at his random suggestion or his feeble attempt at courting, Cloud couldn't be sure.

"Take…me out?" the look of absurdity in her eyes said it all.

Cloud's heart thrummed spasmodically. "Y-yeah...you can prattle off all your other excuses of why it won't work over dinner. What do you say?" _Sounds more like something _Zack_ would have said..._

Caught by surprise, Juneaux laughed loudly – a husky, lusty timbre that Cloud found pleasurable to his ears. "Fine," she huffed. "You're just lucky I'm off duty for the next few days."

Cloud smiled a fraction, then nodded subtly. "Well, then...I better go back and socialize, or Yuffie will think I've done a runner."

Juneaux inclined her head. "You do that. I'll see you later, Cloud."

Cloud made his way back to the palace. His fingertips were tingling and his heart galloping like never before. How hard did it have to be to secure a date with someone? Not that hard, apparently. He hadn't had to do this in years, not since Aerith... Even then, he'd never really had to ask. They just went. Whether it be to the Golden Saucer, or out for dinner, or even just a walk through the Wall Market. Everything had come so naturally with Aerith, Cloud didn't even feel like he'd had to try. Perhaps that's the way it was supposed to be.

Cloud wondered if it had been the same for Zack with Aerith, if things were as easy and natural between them as it had been for Cloud. Nevertheless, Cloud felt rather triumphant that his first attempt at asking a woman out on a date in over five years had been a success. He walked back into the palace feeling chuffed, but maintained his usual nonchalant demeanour on the outside.

"Where did you get to? You look a bit flushed, are you okay? Here, have a drink." Yuffie came scuttling up to him, grabbing a flute of champagne from a nearby waiter and pushing it into his hands.

Cloud took the drink. "I'm fine, Yuffie. I was just talking to someone outside."

"Never mind that. Let's go dance!" she exclaimed, dragging the blanching ex-mercenary behind her.

For a half hour or so, Cloud hung back with Vincent, simply people-watching, as he often did. The thought of dancing nauseated him to the highest degree. He watched people gliding around the floor effortlessly, like some kind of unrehearsed ballet, and was mesmerized. Reeve and Shelke glided across the floor like they were born to it, and Cid had even managed to pick himself up a rather cute looking Redcape girl, who had obviously fallen for his bad-boy persona. After a time, Cloud was approached by Juneaux.

She was a vision in red as she swooped toward him from across the ballroom, having just parted from a dance with the hot-pink haired man. Cloud noticed Vincent leave curtly, asking Yuffie for a dance, as Juneaux came toward him. She was certainly a sight to behold, Cloud admitted, although he couldn't work out why he felt doomed in that moment. She looked spellbinding, and Cloud found himself rooted to the spot.

"May I have this dance?"

Now, Cloud wasn't one for dancing.

At all.

His stomach churned in anxiety as he tried to think of an excuse not to. His mind turned up nothing. Feebly, he replied:

"I, er…I don't know how."

"I can show you." Juneaux coaxed.

Yuffie and Vincent went flying by in a giddying whir, Vincent practically throwing her through the air like an acrobat. Cloud stared at them in amazement. How come it seemed to come so naturally to some but not to others?

Sailing over Vincent's shoulder, Yuffie cried out, "Come on Cloud, you stick in the mud!"

Then again, he wasn't one to chicken out, either.

"Alright then," he grumbled. "What do I do?"

Juneaux grinned and showed him where to put his hands – which in turn made him blush awkwardly – and after standing on her feet a couple of times, he picked up the rhythm. They danced for a while, and though Cloud had learnt the steps, he was still a little uncomfortable. Putting himself in the limelight was just _not_ his forte. Juneaux happened to pick up on this.

"Want to get out of here?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Cloud was relieved, to say the least.

She glanced at the time. "I don't have long."

"Will your coach turn into a pumpkin when the clock strikes twelve, or something?"

Juneaux laughed her lusty laugh again. "I didn't know you were a funny guy."

"I'm not."

She tittered again. "I have to be back at HQ by midnight, unfortunately. I'm technically still on duty until tomorrow."

"It's only eleven; we have time."

The two took their leave discreetly from the ballroom and made their way outside. Yuffie, Vincent and he others were all too preoccupied in drinking and dancing to notice him skulking away, but he would probably catch up with them at some point before he left Wutai, anyway. Bidding some other guests farewell, they exited the grounds.

xXx

Cloud and Juneaux walked in relative silence down the cobblestoned streets of the town. Some sleepy restaurants were just closing, whereas some of the livelier bars were continuing on into the night. Cloud thought the softly-glowing yellow lanterns lining the street reflecting on the red banners made the city look beautiful, as if in a fairytale.

It wouldn't be long until Festival, when every city on the Planet decorated their houses and streets with cheer. Cloud didn't doubt that Wutai would take their decorating to the extreme. Shops often had friendly competition as to who had the best-looking window displays, and everyone tried to outdo each other in the Festival Tree stakes.

They passed a couple of brothels down the main street which were lit up in neon lights. Some of the whores in the doorways tried to lure Cloud in with some enticing words (that he frankly found revolting), yet Juneaux walked staunchly on by without so much as batting an eyelash.

A couple of young drunk hooligans hurled some abuse and derogatory comments to them on their way by, but this didn't seem to faze her, either. Cloud hadn't been out at night in a social situation for so long that this all seemed so new to him.

Cloud wasn't really sure where Juneaux was taking him; it was like they were just enjoying the company of walking together. They soon found themselves down on the esplanade near the waterfront. The ocean air was heavy with the smell of salt and sea creatures, and made Cloud feel almost intoxicated. It reminded him of the days spent lazing on the beach at his holiday home in Costa del Sol, so many, many years ago…

The settlement was nestled along a crescent-moon-shaped bay called Altai Bay, with a great mountain range behind it, including Da Chao Mountain. At the far western end of the bay was Resurrection Mountain, which towered over them all and stood alone, isolated, and strangely commanded its grandeur in an intimidating sort of a way. It was connected by a viaduct bridge to the rest of the range, thus was still accessible by road. If Cloud recalled correctly, Yuffie had told him earlier in the evening that the Redcape Academy outpost was stationed somewhere up there.

They walked for some time, before Juneaux sat down on the stone wall that ran the length of the waterfront. She looked out to sea, her eyes far-off and a little distant. The tide was very high, concealing some of the rock formations that were embedded in the bay. Cloud joined her.

"Your outpost is on Resurrection Mountain, isn't it?"

Juneaux nodded and pointed to the northern face of the mountain, which was smothered in green jungle on the top, and then dropped down into sheer cliff faces to the sea on the lower elevations. Cloud hadn't noticed the fortress-like structure standing on the edge of the hill. It seemed to have been built precariously close to the edge of the cliff and he wondered about the choice of location.

"Why all the way up there?"

"The other side of the mountain has a good landing strip for airships." Juneaux replied. "Plus it's close to the port, which is over that side of the mountains in Chimera Bay."

Of course, now Cloud remembered. In ancient times, Resurrection Mountain was swarming with deadly monsters, particularly chimera. Most of them had since been exterminated so that the colony of people could live peacefully and without fear. Chimera Bay was the main port of Wutai and thus was the main freight and transportation hub of the island.

"Why don't you come and have a look around at the open day tomorrow?" Juneaux suggested. "You might like it. Enough to stay, even."

Suddenly, Cloud's mind warped at a peculiar angle as a thought occurred to him. Had Juneaux been sent as a ploy to get him to come to Wutai, to join the academy? It was well known that he was a dispatch rider with his own delivery business and was doing very well in his own right. It dawned on Cloud that perhaps Juneaux was sent to Midgar simply to seduce him into coming to Wutai so that the academy could snare him for their own business – a trap, just as he thought it had been.

But then, Yuffie's get-together had been legit, as everybody else had turned up, as well. It wasn't just some phony excuse to get him to come to the other side of the world. Or had it been just an opportunity for the academy to make it appear not so shady? Cloud didn't know what to think, now. He gave her a dubious look, but she charged on before he could say anything.

"You would be one of the company's best assets, Cloud, and would be treated so."

Cloud frowned and shifted to look at her properly. "Is _that_ why you wanted me to come to Wutai?"

Juneaux almost immediately looked flustered and her hands flew out in front of her, helplessly. "No, Cloud – honestly, that's not what I meant." She replied firmly. "It might sound like that, now that I think about it…but it's just coincidence, really."

"Seems a little convenient, if you ask me."

Juneaux's eyes went dark, as if he was implying that she was lying to him. "The reason of you being here tonight was only to reunite with AVALANCHE and the WRO, and nothing more."

The man exhaled. He was going to have to think carefully about this, and preferably in a more sober state of mind.

"Is that the only way we can see each other again, then? If I joined the academy?"

She looked down. "I…I can't go back to Midgar, Cloud."

"Because of Shinra?"

She simply gazed at him with what appeared to be sadness and, surprisingly, loathing. She couldn't bring herself to answer his question and turned away, biting her lip instead.

Cloud took this the wrong way, however, and thought he had upset her. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to be impolite."

She sighed lightly "Let's just enjoy each other's company tonight while you're still here, alright?"

"…alright." He looked askance at her, and they avoided each other's gazes for a moment, until they caught eyes again.

Cloud suddenly felt perplexed and dithery about what to do next. He was so out of practice, it bordered on being absurd.

"You _can_ kiss me, Cloud." Juneaux smiled, but this time it was innocent. No trace of her trademark feline grin that Cloud usually took as mockery. "If you want to, that is…"

"M-maybe you should kiss me, this time…" he mumbled, already feeling the burn creeping up his neck. "It didn't go so well, last time I tried…"

Juneaux chuckled lowly. "Well…if you insist,"

Cloud felt his heart accelerate as Juneaux leant in and closed the gap between them. Feeling her lips on his was a surreal feeling this time, nothing like the crazy, hormone-panicked rage he had felt the last time. Still, it didn't make him want her any less and he found himself giving in to the touch with as much passion and enjoyment as she. Juneaux tasted like champagne and fruit punch, and her skin – as velvety to the touch as Cloud had once imagined – smelt faintly of bourbon vanilla.

On their walk back toward the township, they talked about trivial things. Although Cloud didn't really want to reveal too much about himself, he felt like he could tell her most things. He discovered that she liked Chocobos, and wanted to be a professional Chocobo rider when she was young. Her birthday was in February. He learnt that Juneaux's parents were originally from Wutai – a carefree couple who were happy to do all kinds of work, from fruit-picking to cleaning toilets at resorts – but soon after she was born they went to Icicle Lodge to look for work at the ski resorts when work in Wutai dried up.

Cloud told her that he liked Chocobos, too, but only the yellow ones. He'd had a rather unpleasant run-in with a red one as a child when he had tried to capture it. He told her a clipped version of his life as an infantryman enlisted at Shinra, and his uprising to becoming a 1st class SOLDIER. He told her how Zack had been his mentor and best friend, skirting around the topic of the Nibelheim incident and ultimately Zack's demise. Juneaux was strangely subdued at the mentioning of Zack, and Cloud wondered if she knew more about him than she had initially let on.

He told her about his joining AVALANCHE, and again brief versions of the backgrounds of his friends who were also members. Juneaux asked about Tifa and the children – who they were, and what association they had with Cloud – and so he told her. It appeared that Juneaux had no siblings, or other family still alive to speak of, and Cloud didn't volunteer any information about his own family, either, except to say that his childhood was spent in Nibelheim.

Cloud got the distinct feeling that there was something Juneaux preferred to keep hidden; the way she had said she could not go back to Midgar was obviously due to her escaping the holds of Shinra so long ago, but Cloud didn't want to pry. There were things about himself that he would rather not share, as well.

When they reached the main street, Juneaux hailed a cab and glanced at the time. It was a quarter to midnight. Cloud, ever the gentleman, opened the taxi door and bid her farewell. He was surprised when she pecked his cheek, and so thought he should do the same in return, out of civility if nothing else. She queried as to whether Cloud would keep his word and take her out before he left to go back to Midgar, and he assured her he would see her the following day.

The man watched the cab roll off down the road, wondering if what he was getting himself into was going to be worth it in the long run, or if he should just axe things now. How would they ever be able to stay together, when their lives were on opposite sides of the Planet? It seemed futile.

Cloud was, effectively, still very fragile from the events of his past. Learning to love again was no easy feat, but opening up to someone – exposing his vulnerability like that all over again – was something Cloud felt himself incapable of.

That's what he was afraid of; was it worth risking one's heart in the name of love, only to become crushed all over again? Yet somehow, when Cloud was with Juneaux, everything else ceased to exist. All his troubles seemed to fade into the background. He saw only her, and wanted to give himself to her – something he hadn't felt ready to do with anyone else – not that he had exactly _met_ anyone else. He had actively avoided putting himself out there, in fact.

Cloud had been left teetering on the edge of sanity after Aerith had passed over to the Promised Land, and knowing now that he was heading down this path again made him wonder if he could, in fact, handle it, if it failed. Perhaps he just needed more confidence, more self-belief, that this one time, it was going to work.

Cloud walked back to his hotel, fathoming this latest development. He was resolute on one thing: Juneaux was not just any woman. She was not a one-use-only whore from the Honeybee Inn, or just another faceless civilian in the crowd. She was not going to slip through his fingers, and he would be damned if he lost another person whom he held close to his heart.

xXx

Phantom: ^^; sorry for it being so lengthy, but I figured that I was best to get that scene out of the way! There was no better place to end it. I hope you enjoyed, and stay tuned for the next chapter! :]


	6. Chapter 6

Phantom: Hi guys! Sorry, this is going to be a long one, but I HAD to do it! This is when things are starting to get good! :D PS – for those who are unfamiliar with Shelke and Shalua Rui, they are characters from Dirge of Cerberus (and Shalua was originally seen in Before Crisis), which I haven't seen yet. This story has nothing to do with DoC anyway but I like Shelke as a character and so thought I would include her :3

So without further adieu, read!

**Chapter 6**

xXx

Cloud set Fenrir to idle and sat for a moment, staring up at the gargantuan stone citadel towering above him. He was a little in awe of the place. Looking at the outpost from the shores of Altai Bay the night before was nothing compared to witnessing it up close.

The Redcape Academy was much bigger than he had initially thought it would be – a massive gated complex imitating that of a medieval castle, built strategically on a rocky outcrop on the crest of Resurrection Mountain, overlooking the ocean. Scarlet flags sailed nobly in the wind from the steeples of the fortress. Cloud did not really have an eye for beauty in things manmade, but he could tell that many long hours of labour and craftsmanship had gone into the construction of it.

Redcapes were coming and going in all different types of vehicles – some of the local carriers opting to ride by Chocobo – but mostly they were mounted on motorbikes like Fenrir. Far below, the road spiralled down the mountain toward Chimera Bay, where presently a large ship was moored in the harbour having its cargo unloaded. Cloud was aware that the outpost was a training facility and living quarters for the messengers, which would explain why it was so huge – hundreds of Redcapes lived and trained here. The depot for sorting and distributing the freight was down by the port.

The complex gates were currently wide open for the open-day, so people could come and look around freely, so Cloud rode up and parked his bike in the visitor's parking lot. He hadn't the faintest clue where he might find Juneaux, but decided he may as well take a look around the place, first.

As he stepped into the main entrance, Cloud found himself in the hall of fame. Lining the walls were portraits of people who had received high honours of graduating from the academy, and those who had gone on to earn themselves prestigious positions either in the academy itself or in other fields of work, such as teaching, or – to Cloud's dismay – the military. He recognised a scant few faces in the portraits of infantrymen he had worked with at Shinra, and faintly wondered if they had made it to 1st-Class yet. Even some of the Turks had studied here, he noticed.

It appeared that the entire premises was constructed of a whitish-grey stone block, and the exceedingly high and intricately decorated ceilings were propped up by majestic white marble pillars. Life-sized trees and plants were placed here and there to give the place an eco-friendly feel, yet somehow, though it was new, it still felt like it was steeped in history and tradition.

The Redcape Academy was influential in its own right and its name had been established for many centuries. Only the most elite of students received acceptance to train here. At the age of thirteen, Cloud had known he wouldn't have been good enough to go there, and so had gone straight to Shinra, instead.

He wandered the halls, noting the variety of classes that were available for the students. These included mixed martial arts, karate, kenjutsu, taekwondo, jujitsu, archery, gunfire, Chocobo riding, sword-fighting, gymnastics, among many others – and those were only the physical courses. Recreational activities included yoga, dance, poetry, painting, swimming, meditation, philosophy, cooking and more. The students were encouraged to pick at least two leisure activities to involve themselves in during their time off from training.

_It must be exhausting to be a student here,_ Cloud thought. _Probably on-par with training at Shinra…_

As Cloud continued down the corridor, he heard some shouting and cursing coming from one of the rooms on the left. Above the doorway he saw a sign that read "SPARRING CLUB". He was immediately curious, wondering if it might be a sword fighting class.

He walked up and peered through the door, which was slightly ajar. It appeared to be some sort of gymnasium, with ropes hanging from an impossibly high ceiling and jumping blocks and pillars placed strategically around the room. It had no windows, only walls of what looked like reinforced but flexible steel. It had to be the size of Aerith's church, if not larger.

A small group of students – male and female alike – sat on the floor, watching their master with rapt attention. They were all dressed in black and white Wutaian-style robes specially designed for the sport, with protective face masks and gloves on, making it difficult to tell their identity.

"_Again!"_ a loud and dominant female voice boomed. _"How do you expect to represent the academy fighting like _that_, Whitaker?" _

"_But – miss!"_

"_Save it. We go again, until you can make an example for the other students. Come." _

The other students tittered at her reprimand, but quickly hushed as the tutor cast her eye back to them. Footsteps could be heard as she walked back down to the other end of the gymnasium. Obediently – and looking defeated and frustrated – the student followed her. A moment of silence passed before the clash of swords and shouts of exertion from the fight ensued.

Cloud watched the duo battle it out the whole way back to the starting end of the hall, flying through the air, grabbing onto ropes and rebounding off the walls and pillars, and was enthralled. It took him back to the days of training in the simulators at Shinra, but this was the real deal – real swords, real people – no simulators or sugar coating.

Airborne, Cloud saw the young male make a fatal error – presumably one he had continued to be making – leaving himself wide open for an attack. The female instructor made her move and pounced on him, sending them both plummeting to the floor. They landed with a thud on the mats below. She stood up as swiftly as a cobra pulling back to strike and slammed her foot into his chest, with the point of her katana at his throat. He lay underneath her, defeated.

The students watching cheered for her, and the young man who had once again been conquered sighed angrily and ripped off his face mask.

"How am I ever going to get the hang of this?"

The woman also pushed up her mask. Cloud staggered against the door frame – it was Juneaux!

She smiled down at the student beneath her foot. "You are making the same mistake each time, Whitaker. Only when _I_ am underneath _your_ foot, can we move on."

Juneaux lifted her foot and gave the boy a hand up so he could go back to his place in the audience. She looked toward the door, then, and saw Cloud standing there. She went bug-eyed for a moment, and then advanced on him, after letting the students know they could continue practicing for a while.

"How long have you been standing there?" she smiled and touched his hand discreetly through the doorway.

"Long enough. I had no idea it was even you."

"I teach this class. It's one of the main reasons why I left Mideel to come here. They needed more instructors."

"You're very good," Cloud admitted.

Juneaux glanced back to her students, who were practicing some of the tamer techniques with their sparring partners. "Would you like to come in and do a demonstration with me? I'm sure the kids would love it; there are a few here who idolize you and your sword fighting skills, Cloud."

Cloud knew that his fighting days were over, but if it was simply a display for the children who were learning, he didn't see what harm it could do. He shrugged and walked in behind her.

"Attention please, class. We have a…a special guest joining us, today."

The students looked toward her and Cloud, drawing gasps or cries of incredulity.

"Oh my goodness, it's _Cloud_ _Strife_!"

"Is it _really_ him?"

"No way!"

"_He's_ the guy that defeated Sephiroth!"

"Look at his _sword_!"

"Wow…"

Cloud had to refrain from chuckling at how in-awe of him the students appeared to be. He hadn't been in this situation before, except for Denzel and Marlene telling him how awesome he was on the odd occasion, and found it rather bizarre. He wasn't aware of the full extent of his admirers.

"Cloud Strife is here to do a demonstration with me, today, so take notes." Juneaux said sternly, then turned to him. "I trust you know the routine?"

Cloud nodded. He had memorized the routine of her and the young man's fight while he had been standing by the door. Although he had picked up her moves, he wasn't sure if she was going to pull the same ones this time. He was fairly sure he would be able to win this fight – due to brute strength, if nothing else – but then the tables could turn rather quickly.

"Whitaker, I want you to watch very carefully." Juneaux handed Cloud a face mask – not that he really needed it – but she needed to set an example for the students. She said to Cloud, "Don't go easy on me."

"I won't," Cloud replied quietly. He wanted to put her skills to the test.

They walked to the end of the hall, and there was a chorus of '_oohs'_ and '_ahhs'_ from the students as Cloud drew his 6-piece buster sword. He liked the familiar, weighty feeling of it in his hand, which was much more robust than Juneaux's singular blade. Her katana reminded Cloud – a little distastefully – of Sephiroth's, but only about half as long.

Cloud pulled down his face mask and he and Juneaux walked very slowly, one foot in front of the other, in opposite directions. He knew the drill. They turned around and bowed to each other as a sign of respect, and then it was all on.

Juneaux jumped up toward the ceiling like a bolt of lightning and grabbed onto a rope as Cloud came at her, just barely missing her. She ran along the wall with Cloud now hot on her heels and swung widely to grab onto another rope. With the help of gravity and momentum she came at him in a full-frontal assault, which Cloud tactfully defended. The sound of metal against metal was not as harsh against his ears as it should have been, after so many years in the military.

Juneaux plummeted and rebounded again, bouncing off of one of the stone pillars, coming up and side-swiping Cloud, nicking the side of his mask. The ex-mercenary performed a double-barrelled twist to avoid her blade from embedding itself in his torso and swung around widely. They came together again and sparred with deadly accuracy, but close enough that they knew not to harm one another seriously – for the students' sakes as much as their own.

As they were approaching the part of the routine that Whitaker had failed so many times at, Cloud pushed himself off the wall and sprung at Juneaux, hefting his sword and swinging it with as much force as he could put into motion. Juneaux could see that this moment could well be her last and tried her mightiest – in mid air with nothing under her feet to support herself nor any ropes or pillars close by – to block his attack with her own sword. Cloud pulled out his most impressive move and disbursed the buster sword into its six consecutive parts – slicing Juneaux's weapon cleanly in two. They dropped with a clatter onto the hardwood floor a moment later.

With nothing left to defend herself with and gravity now failing her, Juneaux glared at her opponent and fell to the ground. Cloud – two seconds behind – landed on his feet, one behind the other with knees bent, and pinned her to the ground by her wrists up above her head. He quickly slid both her wrists into one hand and caught his swords half a second later in his free hand, moulded back into their one set, with the other.

With their noses barely inches apart, Juneaux looked up at him and smirked, knowing she had been outdone – but she had been expecting it. It wasn't every day that one got to fight a SOLDIER. Cloud smiled meekly back at her and released her from his death grip, giving her a hand up. The two faced each other, and bowed once again, before turning to face the students, who were eerily silent.

"Sorry about that," Cloud murmured, gesturing to her broken katana.

Juneaux shrugged. "It wasn't my best one." Then she turned to her students, who were staring with mouths agape, absolutely stupefied.

"And _that_, class, is how it is done." Juneaux declared with a modest smile.

They erupted into applause and whistling for the demonstration, shouting for an encore. It was another five minutes or so before the bell rang signalling lunch time, and Cloud noticed that the class had attracted a number of other tutors and guests who were here for the open-day. Cloud answered some of the students' questions and – to his surprise – gave his autograph to some of them. Before long, the gymnasium had emptied out, leaving Juneaux and Cloud standing alone together.

"I thought you were off-duty, today." Cloud observed.

"When I'm not working, I teach." Juneaux explained. "Only this class, though. It is only held once a week."

Cloud nodded. "So, you're free, now?"

Juneaux nodded and, surprisingly, coloured a little. "Yes."

It was the first time Cloud had seen her blush, and he found it quite becoming. So far she had kept her cool in situations and didn't appear to get flustered too easily. The man and woman exited the training room and walked back the way Cloud had come, and up a few flights of stairs to the northeast wing. Juneaux led him down a long passageway to a dark wooden door and unlocked it, walking in. Upon entry, Cloud realised this was her living quarters.

"This is nice," Cloud murmured, advancing toward the window. It had a spectacular view of the ocean on the fortress's northern face.

"I only earned this room because I'm a tutor _and_ a messenger. The other courier's living quarters down below are pretty poxy. I'm flying business class and they're in cattle class, if you know what I mean." She chuckled lightly.

Cloud stared out the window. "Guess you get all the benefits."

He recalled the living quarters at Shinra; infantrymen were 4-to-a-room with single bunk beds and had to use the shared facilities such as the communal showers, lounge and cafeteria, while SOLDIERS earned their own self-contained apartments with kitchenettes and small bathrooms. They even got their own couches and a TV.

"I'm just going to freshen up," Juneaux said, walking through to the bathroom.

"Then, what?"

It was a moment before she emerged donning a casual knee-length red dress, lighter in fabric for the warmer weather, and her hair having been hastily brushed.

"I thought that was up to you?"

It was Cloud's turn to blush. "I thought we could go Chocobo riding."

It was a lame idea, he knew. But admittedly, it was fun, and he hadn't done it in years. He had seen a Chocobo trekking place on his way up Resurrection Mountain that he thought looked quite inviting. He was on holiday – so why not?

Juneaux's smile gleamed and she laughed. "That certainly sounds like fun. We can take some of the Chocobos from the stables; I'm sure Jethro won't mind."

_Jethro_, Cloud thought. _The man with the pink hair from the ball_. It seemed odd; the man in Cloud's minds' eye was rugged and manly and didn't seem like the type who would work with Chocobos. Then again, it took him by surprise to find out that Juneaux was such a weapon when it came to sparring, too.

Juneaux and Cloud walked out of the complex and down onto the outdoor terraces where the Chocobo stables were located. As they walked down the rows of stables, Chocobos of varying colours poked their heads out and tweeted their sweet trills. Cloud was immediately wistful but tried not to show it. For some silly reason he really had a soft spot for the big, fluffy creatures.

"Jethro!" Juneaux yelled, running down the paved passageway.

The man, riding up on a green Chocobo, dismounted swiftly and took the reins over the bird's head. "Hello, Juneaux. What brings you down here?"

She turned to Cloud. "I'm sure you met Cloud last night at the ball," she said, as if to refresh his memory.

In turn, he looked Cloud up and down, and nodded rather tersely.

"We were planning on going for a ride this afternoon. Would you mind?"

Cloud guessed that this man was the head Chocobo-riding instructor at the academy, and it seemed like he had a soft spot for Juneaux, judging by the look he gave Cloud. Her powers of persuasion seemed to swing in their favour, however, and Jethro agreed to let them borrow a couple of Chocobos for their excursion.

Cloud was quietly delighted when he was led to a stable with a fluffy young yellow Chocobo inside. He petted it affectionately and it made a low, almost purring-like trill deep in its throat.

"I think she likes you," Juneaux said as she came back with her own white Chocobo, tacked up and ready to go. Cloud noticed a basket attached to it via some sort of contraption.

Before long they were mounted and trekking across the countryside, heading northwest toward Chimera Bay. Cloud hated to admit that he actually felt…_happy_…at being out in the fresh air doing something simply for leisure purposes. He wasn't working, or fighting, or helping the kids with their homework, or serving drunks at the bar. In fact, he was as far from all that as he had ever dreamed. He was basking in the Wutaian sunshine aboard a jovial yellow Chocobo, riding the hillside forests with a woman he had become fond of. Is this what…_happiness_ felt like?

"Want to run?" Juneaux called back from out front.

By this time they had made it down the valley to the sea and had a long stretch of beach out in front of them.

"Uh…" Cloud was wary. He had never gone faster than walking, on a Chocobo before.

"Just hold on tight!" Juneaux cried as she urged the white Chocobo forward.

Before Cloud knew it, his yellow Chocobo changed up gears and almost launched out from underneath him, as Juneaux took off out front. He grabbed onto the bird's feathers with a white-knuckled grip and held on for dear life. Feeling the wind rushing past his face, and hearing Juneaux's shrieks of glee made him feel the weirdest kind of elation. It was like a type of freedom that he'd never experienced before – as if he could keep on running forever without stopping – and he couldn't hold back the whoop of exhilaration that escaped his throat as the ground flew by in a whir.

By the time they slowed down, Cloud was feeling a little motion sick – as he often did – but it wasn't so bad. He'd prefer riding a Chocobo to going by air or sea, in any circumstances. Juneaux's normally pale cheeks were flushed with roses from the thrill, and the Chocobos looked equally spent. They soon came to rest in a secluded cove with a nice view of the ocean, and dismounted.

Juneaux untied the basket and laid down a blanket, some food, and some water – for them and their steeds. The creatures slaked their thirst quickly and then promptly went down in the sand for a 'sand bath', ruffling their feathers and wriggling around in the sand, much as a chicken would do in dust. This, in turn, caused Juneaux to erupt into giggles – as it did look rather bizarre – and Cloud found her laughter infectious.

"This was a good idea, Cloud," Juneaux mentioned, munching on a bread roll.

Cloud – who was lying on his side, propped up on one elbow – looked down at the red and white patchwork blanket. "I haven't felt this way for a long time, Juneaux. You know…" He wasn't really sure how to address himself.

"Happy?"

"Well…yeah." He frowned, wanting to say that there was more to it than that, but he wasn't sure how. "I don't think…I deserve to feel like this."

_Dilly-dally, shilly-shally…_

"Why not? Everyone has a right to feel happiness,"

He looked at her. "So many people have suffered, because of me."

"Not you, Cloud." She said. "Shinra."

He looked away again, out to sea. "Shinra, me. Same thing."

"Hey," she said, catching his attention. "It's all in the past, now. You can't undo what has already been done. Besides…you have learnt forgiveness, have you not? You're still healing, I can see that, but you must learn to let go."

Cloud rolled over onto his back and stacked his arms beneath his head. "I wish it were that easy."

"Hmm…"

Juneaux gave him a devious look and then pounced, straddling him. Cloud was immediately caught unawares and floundered on the blanket, accidentally kicking up sand. The Chocobos threw their heads up in alertness at the sudden outcry from the man. Juneaux laughed mockingly as Cloud struggled to free himself, working himself up a little more than was necessary. He hadn't had a female sit astride him like this in a _long_ time. He still felt inept to touch her too physically, so all he could do was lie there and go crimson. This evoked more laughter from his assailant.

"Want to play a game?"

"That depends," he grunted. "Are you going to get off me?"

"It's called 'catch me if you can'," Juneaux replied airily, ignoring his question and jumping up off of him.

Cloud went ashen when, a moment later, she stripped bare and ran toward the waves like a woman seized by madness. Naked as a jaybird, bobbing up and down in the sea, she called out,

"Well? Are you going to come and catch me?"

Cloud knew she was taunting him. He didn't think the world was quite ready to bear witness to his exposed flesh just yet, so he went and sat on a rock, watching her take long strokes out to sea, and then back again. She lay on the surface of the water, star-fishing, soaking up the sunshine for a while. Cloud wasn't really one for swimming; he got seasick far too easily from the rhythm of the tides and didn't really like the thought of what lurked in the ocean's waters. They had enough problems with monsters on land as it was.

Cloud wasn't really sure where to look when Juneaux walked back to shore – it had been what felt like a million years since he'd seen the naked female form with his own eyes – so he decided on indulging in his carnal male instincts and simply ogled her, still perched on his rock.

Her body was supple and muscular, pale as snow, her hair like jet against her skin when wet. Her eyes gleamed in the sun like two ruby jewels and her modest-sized breasts bounced with firmness and youth. Her belly was flat and had not yet known children – at least, not to Cloud's knowledge – and a light down of fuzzy dark curls covered her sex. She looked innocent yet sinfully alluring and achingly desirable all at the same time. Cloud felt heady in an instant.

Watching her walking back up the beach with absolutely no indignity, glinting in the sunlight with droplets of seawater running down her, Cloud was transfixed. He felt the heat rising to his face and noticed that his body had reacted of its own accord, resulting in a rather painful erection. He frowned and wondered how he was going to deal with that, thinking it was somewhat inappropriate. He couldn't even use the excuse of being 'only human'. He hoped she wouldn't notice and stayed put on the rock.

As she came nearer, up the left side of her torso, from her hip to her breast, Cloud noticed what looked like severe scarring which had now healed over. It had become pale pink, faded scar tissue, after years of being healed. Still, he knew what it was, as the word entered his mind.

Geostigma.

Cloud was a little calmer by the time Juneaux was dry and dressed again, and felt composed enough to join her on the blanket again. They both lay on their sides in a semi-foetal position, facing each other. The Chocobos apparently had the same idea in mind and were snoozing peacefully next to each other in the sand. Juneaux reached up and brushed a lock of blond hair out of Cloud's eyes.

"I saw the scars," he said – rather tactlessly, now that he thought about it.

The woman frowned. "You just saw me in the nude and all you have to say is that you saw my _scars_?"

The fact that she giggled after using that accusing tone made Cloud aware that she was joking. He flushed with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry…the rest was…" he struggled to think of an appropriate word. "ni-ice…?" his voice cracked on the word and he cleared his throat quickly.

He could tell Juneaux was enjoying him squirm. Why did he always have to put his foot in his mouth? Failingly, he felt the furious blush come back and tried in vain to fight it.

"I guess – I mean – I have scars too, you know." He pulled up his shirt for emphasis, showing her the many places in which Sephiroth's sword had impaled him years before.

Juneaux looked wide eyed for a moment, and then went quiet. A little too quickly, she was back her more usual pallid complexion.

"Sorry…you probably didn't need to see that." Cloud muttered.

She shook her head. "I got the Stigma after I fled Midgar. I contracted it while on a mission. Only the medics in Mideel could help me so it was manageable enough to live with." She looked a little forlorn, but then she brightened. "And then you found the cure, Cloud."

"It wasn't me, really…" he replied, thinking of Aerith.

"I've been stigma-free for two years, now. The Lifestream carried the cure to the springs in Mideel, and we all were all cured. It was such a wonderful moment. I'll never forget it."

"But…it has scarred you,"

She frowned. "I think you need to lighten up, SOLDIER. You only seem to see the negative in things."

Cloud frowned, too, realizing she was right. "I'm sorry, you're right. I'm glad to have been…of help."

"Not just to me," she said. "Thousands."

Cloud wasn't used to being praised and didn't at all know what to say, or how to acknowledge it. So, he kissed her, instead, and she did not resist.

xXx

It was nightfall by the time they reached the stables again, and Cloud didn't want the day to end. They had gone right down into the township of Chimera Bay and dined at a pizzeria, laughing and poking fun at each other over dinner. He learned that she was good with humour and apparently he made the perfect candidate for being made fun of, but it was all in good nature. He knew she was only trying to make him smile – which he seemed to be doing a lot more of, lately.

He had had such a magnificent time, and didn't fully comprehend what freedom felt like until today. It took him back to his childhood days with Tifa in Nibelheim, when they would climb Mt. Nibel, or climb up the water tower, just generally getting into mischief and not even thinking about the consequences. Being totally reckless and carefree, as only children could be. Spending the day with Juneaux made him remember what that felt like, like the rest of the world could just fall away.

"Well, I guess I'll be seeing you, Cloud…?"

Juneaux tried to smile, but Cloud could see it was difficult for her. He would be leaving tomorrow.

He touched her face. "When?" It was a question neither of them knew the answer to.

She lifted her shoulder in a slight shrug. "If you moved here…" she trailed off.

"There must be another way." Cloud stated with sudden resolve. "Juneaux…I haven't felt like this about anyone since Aerith was alive. Chances like this don't come by very often, and I'm not going to let this one pass me by. Life is too short and too fragile not to embrace your dreams…if anyone, I should know that." He hung his head, thinking of Zack. Those words were his, after all.

Juneaux tilted his head back up with a finger under his chin. "But how else–"

She was cut short by a deafening sound that seemed to have come from nowhere – one that Cloud was all too familiar with. It was a resonance that he wished not to hear in a place like this, a sound that should be reserved for places like Midgar, or Junon – not here on the sunny, idyllic shores of Wutai.

Chopper blades.

Like a monster emerging from the deep, a black military helicopter with the unmistakable Shinra Electric Power Company logo emblazoned on the side rose up over the cliff top.

It was not the only one.

Cloud whirled around, noticing other helicopters rising up above the cliffs surrounding the academy. There had to have been five of them, at least. It was clear to Cloud what was happening, now – they were being ambushed – but why?

What happened during the next few moments went by in a blur, for all involved. Somewhere in the midst, bombs were dropped, both smoke and the deadlier kind. Masonry fell from the grand structure behind them and crushed innocent bystanders below. Generic Shinra infantrymen dropped from the helicopters on zip-lines and stormed the complex, shooting at all and any who got in their way, whilst the Turks inside barked orders over the speakerphone.

Juneaux – with a look of terror in her eyes like Cloud had never seen – tried to make a run for it. But, like a spider jumping out to ensnare its prey, an electric trap-net sprung out from the helicopter and snatched her. She writhed around and screamed incoherently in pain and panic as the electric currents jolted through her, and after all of ten seconds she was unconscious. Cloud felt weak and powerless in that moment, as he tried to free her with the buster sword, but it was fruitless – he was too late. In mere seconds, the helicopter had swung away, taking with it Juneaux's limp body in the net swinging beneath it.

All around the complex, Cloud could hear the screams; the uproar and the sheer horror of the violence was inconceivable. Gunfire could be heard, bloodshed was prevalent, and above all the sound of the chopper blades spinning that meant only one thing to Cloud – death and corruption. Bombs exploded, limbs flew, heads rolled.

In the aftermath, Cloud scanned the area as the dust settled, and it had never felt so surreal. Fires were blazing randomly and many people – Redcapes and civilians alike – lay dead, injured or bleeding on the ground. Gas bombs had been deployed by Shinra, leaving an acrid, sulphuric vapour in the air. As a result, many people were sprawled unconscious, or coughing violently. Parts of the academy had been attacked and the majestic glass and stone façades were now broken and crumbling. The fortress's own defences had failed it, having been so unprepared.

Cloud slumped to the ground into a sitting position, taking it all in. No one came to ask him if he was alright. He couldn't even find it in him to help the people that lay dead and bleeding a few yards away from him. The disbelief was on a cataclysmic scale.

The choppers finally made their retreat back across the ocean toward the horizon – becoming black specks in the distance – their work here done. Cloud realised he didn't recognise any of the Turks piloting them. He would have spotted Reno's flame-red hair from a mile away, and figured he could not have been involved in any of this. Immediately, he snapped open his cell phone and dialled in Reno's number. In his state of shock and confusion, he needed answers.

"_Reno here,"_

"Reno," Cloud said with force above the screams.

"_Yo, Cloud! What's goin' on?" _

"I think _you_ need to be the one telling _me_ what's going on," he replied roughly, feeling sand and grit in his throat.

"_Oh yeah? Shoot."_

"I'm in Wutai. Why have Shinra stormed the new Redcape Academy outpost?"

"_Hmm, not a lot I can tell you about that one, my friend. I wasn't assigned to that mission."_

"Tell me, Reno!"

"_Alright, alright, geeze! Keep your pants on! All I know is that it was a top-secret operation to recover some fugitives that have finally been tracked down. We'll be keeping them here for questioning until we decide what to do with them, okay? What are _you_ doing in Wutai, anyway?" _

"Forget it. When I get back to Midgar, you better have a good reason for all of this." Cloud replied, gazing in stupor at the carnage surrounding him.

"_Hey, hey, hey, settle down, now! Cloud –!"_

But the call was already disconnected, and Cloud was now dialling Cid Highwind, hoping fervently that he was still in Wutai. He needed to get back to Midgar – and fast.

xXx

Phantom: :D you didn't think I'd do THAT did ya? Read and review pleeeease! :3


	7. Chapter 7

Phantom: I'm sorry its taken me a while to get this up! RL has been getting in the way as per usual. But here it is, so I hope you enjoy :3

**Chapter 7**

xXx

It didn't take long for the rest of the island to catch wind of what had gone down. Wutaian troops, paramedics and the City Guard were now swarming the area, taking care of the injured and taking evidence for legal and forensic purposes. The citadel had been evacuated – for those who were left standing. They were taken to the city hall in the town centre of Wutai, and Godo Kisaragi had declared a civil emergency. Wutai was now on red-alert for any more impending attacks.

Cid had come to pick up Cloud from the warzone on his airship _Shera_ immediately following his phone call. Thankfully, he was still on the island, as he and Barret had planned on taking a few days out as a vacation from their day-jobs. Yuffie, Vincent and the others who had attended the gathering the night before were also aboard. Cloud was surprised to see Cait Sith and Red XIII aboard, too, but there was no sign of Reeve. Yuffie was understandably irate about the situation.

"Shinra! Who the _hell_ do they think they are! Just when we were celebrating the up-and-coming of Wutai – _bam_! They come and ruin it all over again!" she ranted.

Cloud, who was slumped in a corner of the ship's cockpit, exhausted and covered in blood and dirt, replied, "They weren't trying to attack Wutai itself, Yuffie. They wanted the Redcapes…Juneaux told me she had been running from them for years."

"Guess they finally caught up with her, eh?" Cid remarked, rather insensitively.

"What did she do, Cloud?" Shelke asked gently.

The man shook his head tiredly. "She never told me. But whatever she did, Hojo experimented on her as punishment."

Vincent remained silent in the corner, noting the goings-on around him.

"We need to find out what she did, and get her back!" Yuffie exclaimed. "Who's down for kicking some serious Shinra butt?"

"You know I'd never say no to _that_!" Barret replied with gusto, throwing his giant steel gun-arm up into the air above him.

"We need more information first," Vincent observed quietly.

"We can't just rush in there and try to take them on single-handedly, you know," Red commented. "We need a strategy."

"Don't worry Cloud, we'll get your lady back!" Cait Sith cried enthusiastically.

But Cloud didn't hear it. He had involuntarily succumbed to the shock and exhaustion, slumped in the same position in the corner, bloodied and dirty. He remained that way for the duration of the trip back to Midgar, blissfully unaware of the plans unfolding around him.

xXx

Cloud stormed into the Shinra headquarters, completely bypassing the staff at the front desk. They blithered and dithered about how he was not authorised to proceed any further, but their efforts went unnoticed. Cloud was heading in the direction of the Briefing Room. He knew that that was where he would most likely find the one person in particular he was looking for.

Tseng.

Reaching the Briefing Room, Cloud pushed open the door violently to see Tseng and Elena at the desk chatting. They looked momentarily alarmed as the ex-SOLDIER made his presence known in the doorway.

"Cloud?" Tseng said, sounding truly surprised. "I didn't think I'd ever see _you_ back here."

"Should I call security…?" Elena queried quietly.

"Tell me what happened at Wutai," Cloud demanded icily, advancing upon the Turks.

Tseng eyed him for a few moments before dismissing Elena, asking her to keep security on standby. The slim blonde woman complied with his orders and exited the Briefing Room, allowing Cloud to take a seat behind the desk. The ex-mercenary remained standing.

"How does the operation at Wutai concern you, Cloud?" Tseng asked calmly.

"That's not important," Cloud replied through grit teeth. "Why did Shinra storm the Redcape Academy outpost? Who are the fugitives they've been looking for?"

"What's your affiliation with them? I'm afraid I can't disclose any information to you, Cloud, unless you have good reason."

"Juneaux –" he stopped short, realising he did not know of her last name. "One of the Redcapes who was kidnapped, Juneaux, is an associate of mine. She…is important, to me." He hung his head, mainly out of habit.

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "I see…" he then stood up and retrieved a file from the filing cabinet behind his desk. "Is this the woman you mean?"

He slapped the file down on the desk in front of Cloud, with a photo of Juneaux on the front cover of it. Admittedly she looked a lot younger, and her eyes were brown, but it was unmistakably her.

"Yes."

"Firstly, you should know that this woman is going by the name 'Juneaux' as an alias. Her real name is _Soraya Nordstrom_. She's been on the run from Shinra for about a decade and would be approximately twenty-nine, by now."

Cloud slowly felt the blood drain from his face. "What did she do to deserve being held prisoner here in the first place?"

"Ms. Nordstrom worked as a hired gun in Midgar many years ago." Tseng informed him, intertwining his fingers on the desk in front of him. "She was a member of an organised crime ring known as ELITE. From what little I know, I believe she was assigned a contract to take out one of our very own SOLDIERS… However, it is believed that instead of carrying out the task, she instead developed intimate relations with him."

Cloud could feel himself starting to shake.

"Once she was found out, she was turned over to Shinra officials at once."

"You mean, she was _experimented_ on?"

Tseng eyed him darkly. "Professor Hojo expressed a desire to exploit her talents as an assassin with the idea in mind to convert her into a spy or a mercenary for Shinra. At times she became so strong she was uncontainable, and about a year after her incarceration, she escaped of her own doing. No one ever knew what became of her, despite Shinra's best efforts at recovering her."

Cloud felt drained as he absorbed the information. "Then how _did_ you find her?"

"We have been tracking her for years – and not just her. There were other members of ELITE just like her, who we believe went on to join the Redcape Academy, also. Sources tell me she was sighted in Midgar not so long ago. Foolish, on her part."

Who had seen her? Cloud wondered. More to the point, who had seen her _with him_? He thought back to the night at the inn in Midgar. It could have been anyone; there were many guests at the inn, that night, as Cloud recalled. His mind was racing frantically as to how they must have finally caught up with her. Had someone at Shinra been keeping tabs on him?

"Reno…" Cloud thought out loud, suddenly feeling weak. Had Reno been tracking _his_ movements?

"Not Reno," Tseng said, averting his gaze. He knew all about their unorthodox friendship.

Tseng would have been too busy to track down people for so many years, and Rude was Reno's partner, so that scratched those two. That left Elena, who was still too inexperienced. There were others, of course, but none of them Cloud knew too well. Who else had been a Turk for a significant length of time? Who would have been there for almost ten years, now? It would have to have been one that was well-seasoned in their work and trusted enough to travel on extended missions, probably alone. One who would work well as a spy…

"Cissnei." Cloud deciphered.

Tseng didn't say anything, but Cloud knew he was right. The young woman was one of the company's best assets and would stop at nothing to get to the bottom of something. She was tireless in her profession. Zack had talked about her to Cloud a long time ago, about his holiday in Costa del Sol where she had also been present, and Cloud had vague memories of a night on the beach in Banora, hearing her and Zack arguing about something.

_So annoying! But kind of nice, too, I guess. _Zack had said of her, his voice ringing clearly now in Cloud's mind.

Cloud looked the black-haired Turk in the eye. "Take me to her."

Tseng knew he meant Juneaux, and he sighed mutedly, but didn't object. The senior Turk escorted Cloud to the elevators, where they both went underground to the holding cells. Security officers and infantrymen were guarding the corridors. Tseng led Cloud into a glary interrogation room with two-way mirrors on the walls and a table and two cheap plastic chairs inside. Sitting on one said chair was Juneaux, looking malnourished and beaten. She was in handcuffs, looking as if she had just been subjected to an intense round of questioning.

"You have five minutes," Tseng declared, before leaving them alone.

Cloud walked toward her and put his hands against her battered cheeks. Dried tear stains marked her skin and her already-red eyes were bloodshot as she glanced up at him. A dried bloody patch on the back of her head indicated she'd been smacked over the head at one point, and one of her eyes was purple and closed up. Cloud kissed the top of her head, thanking the Promised Land that she was at least still alive, and took a seat opposite her.

"Who _are_ you, Juneaux? _If_ that's your real name…" he asked bluntly. The fluorescent lighting was glary and hurt his eyes.

She eyed him dubiously for a moment out of her good eye. "They gave you my alias, didn't they?"

"They said that 'Juneaux' was your alias."

A wry smile came to her lips. "_Soraya Nordstrom _was my alias, Cloud. I changed my name when I came to Midgar over ten years ago. 'Juneaux Greenslade' is my true identity."

"I think you'd better tell me what's going on."

The woman took in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I guess I have to tell you now…Where to start?" she laughed without humour to herself.

"The beginning?"

Juneaux nodded mutely. She laid a hand flat on the table in front of her and stared at it for a long moment, as if gathering her thoughts. "When I was fourteen, still living in Icicle Lodge, my parents were murdered in cold blood right before my eyes, by common thieves." She paused, gauging Cloud's reaction. When he didn't flinch, she continued.

"I had no one else…no other family, so I fled to Midgar in hope to find work. It was harder than I thought…I had no money and nowhere to live, so the slums of Sector 7 became my home. I had to support myself somehow, so I obtained a job as a go-go dancer at the Honeybee Inn, much to my degradation…but I got by.

"Living in the slums, you had to protect yourself – you know? – from thugs and rapists. I often had to kill to save my own life. That happened frequently, and I began to improve at it. As grotesque as it sounds…I had a _knack_ for killing.

"After a few years, I had made enough money to leave the club, so I decided to become a private investigator – I wanted to find out who killed my parents, and why. After I became qualified, I got a lot of work, which surprised me.

"One day, a client asked me if I was any good with a gun, and I said no, I had never used a gun in my life, and asked him why. He asked me if I could kill, I said yes. He offered to train me as an assassin, and said that if I carried out my first contract successfully, I would be rewarded greatly. I was nervous, but after my first successful kill… it was easy."

Cloud swallowed. Tseng had been correct on that part. "You…became a hired gun."

Juneaux nodded in verification. She looked a little contrite. "I joined a secret circle of assassins known as ELITE – the agency that gave us all our jobs. Competition was fierce – assassins would kill other assassins just to get the good ones. Eventually, I was able to move out of the slums, into a nicer sector. By that time I had a good clientele. Then I got assigned the biggest contract of my career – to take out a 1st-class SOLDIER of Shinra…by the name of Angeal Hewley."

Cloud nearly fell out of his seat. "Zack's mentor?"

Juneaux nodded mournfully, her gaze cast to the floor as she reminisced. "It was to be the most dangerous job for me yet, but I couldn't refuse. The reward was great, and I was getting greedy. This assignment needed careful planning, though, so I used my investigation skills to get to know Angeal's movements better.

"I posed as a university student writing an essay on military business, and proposed to be an understudy of one of the SOLDIERS at Shinra for a few weeks. I put Angeal's name forward, saying I had heard how good he was at mentoring. Shinra was flattered – to say the least – that someone wanted to see how things worked on the inside – enough to want to do an 'essay' on it."

Cloud frowned. "How did you get past security? They wouldn't just let anyone in, like that."

Juneaux shrugged. "I had fake references and a fake enrolment under the name of my alias at the University of Midgar. It all checked out; Shinra saw no problem. To them, I was just an innocent student."

"Clever." Cloud commented. She had done her homework, or so it seemed.

"So, on my 'first day', administration at Shinra assigned Angeal and his newly-appointed apprentice, Zack Fair, to give me the grand tour."

Cloud felt his heart split open at the mentioning of Zack's full title, but was too bewildered to say anything. He let her continue.

"Over the weeks that I was there 'studying' them and what they did…things changed. I became quite fond of Angeal…and he for me. I was seventeen, he was twenty-five. Eventually…we fell in love. On the rare occasions that he had time off duty, we went out together…we became intimate. After that, I couldn't bring myself to carry out the rest of the assignment. I'd gotten in way over my head."

By that, Cloud knew she meant she couldn't execute Angeal. He was more shocked however, to learn that she _had_ in fact known Zack, rather than known _of_ him, as she had mentioned back in Wutai.

"I had to confess everything," Juneaux continued. "knowing that I was putting my life on the line and my career. I begged Angeal to have mercy on me…he didn't. He turned me over to Shinra officials at once, and I was incarcerated. I can't say I can blame him; he was angry and hurt – everything I had told him about myself was a lie. My name, what I did, where I was from.

"What was I supposed to say when he wanted to meet my made-up family? Attend my phony graduation? He even said he would try to get me a job with the Turks once I had finished my 'studies'."

Cloud sat back with an exhausted shudder, sinking down further into his seat. Now the pieces were starting to fall into place. The crime she had committed against Shinra was unforgiveable. It was understandable that they had had no mercy on her; Cloud was surprised she was even still alive to date. She was a traitor of the most abhorred kind.

"You know Angeal was killed not long after that, right?" Cloud hedged.

Her lips went tight. "Of course I do; Zack killed him. He had no other choice."

Cloud looked down at the table, regretting what he'd just said. Of course she knew. The whole world, even outside of Midgar, knew what had happened when Angeal and Genesis went off the rails, and then after Sephiroth went insane…Zack and himself were the only ones who managed to stay sane through it all, or so it seemed.

"What happened after you came clean?"

"They sent me straight to the experimentation labs. They aimed to torture me, so I would tell them everything about who I worked for." Juneaux replied, recalling the events as they occurred. "When that didn't work, I became Professor Hojo's favourite new toy…He wanted to put my 'talents' to use. The mako treatments began…and…well, I guess I don't need to explain _that_ part to you."

"I can gather." Cloud replied hoarsely.

"Before I told Angeal the truth, Zack had taken a shine to me…I guess you could have called it a boyish crush, but he would hang on my every word, follow me around…he really became quite a nuisance!" she laughed recalling the memories.

Cloud smiled, knowing exactly what he would have been like. Zack would go gaga for just about _any_ pretty woman passing by.

"I was there to do my job after all. But he and I became friends, and when he learnt the truth and what was going to happen to me, he was devastated."

Cloud could imagine that with utmost clarity; Zack had never wanted anyone to be in pain, especially someone he had taken to. Cloud was almost relieved that Zack had passed before Aerith; he wasn't sure how Zack would have dealt with her death had he still been alive. His emotions had ruled him, at times. His heart had been too big, worn far too often on his sleeve.

"Unlike Angeal, Zack forgave me…He came to visit me as often as he could, promising to try and get me out. I told him not to worry. I had a plan in mind to get out of here myself, and told him. In exchange, he gave me his parents' address in Gongaga, and told me to write him there, so he knew I had gotten to safety, and he would come and find me. By the time Zack had returned from the end of the war at Fort Tamblin, I had already escaped from Shinra, halfway to Mideel by then.

"It was then that I joined the Redcape Academy, and went back to my real name. I cut off all my hair and put peroxide through it, and wore blue contacts, to hide my identity. After all, Shinra knew me as a brunette by the name of Soraya, not a blonde named Juneaux."

"I guess they know, now." Cloud muttered pointlessly.

"They don't care _what_ my name is, Cloud."

"The Turks were tracking you."

Her crimson eyes went vacant and cheerless. "I know. Shinra always has ways and means to an end of something. I guess I just wasn't cautious enough." She slumped her shoulders in defeat.

"Did you ever write to Zack's parents?"

"Yes…" her eyes looked far-off as she spoke. "A couple of years after I joined the academy, and no one had come looking for me, I felt it safe enough to write them, although I still signed the letter off anonymously. I had heard about the Nibelheim incident, and wondered if Zack had been involved."

Cloud flinched at the mentioning of the Nibelheim incident. That point in his career had been pivotal if nothing else. Everything in his life had taken a turn for the worst after that, resulting in the deaths of those whom he held dear.

"His parents replied a few weeks later to say that they hadn't heard from Zack in years. Not long after that, I caught wind of Zack's death near Midgar, but I think I knew in my heart that he was dead. Zack wasn't one to give up on things so easily – if he'd had half the chance, he would have come looking for me."

"He…never mentioned anything to me about you." Cloud observed.

Juneaux shook her head. "He had more important things to worry about, than me. Zack only cared because he knew I was innocent…well, maybe not _innocent_, but he knew I was a good person, underneath it all. I didn't want to kill Angeal, but then I never expected to fall in love with him, either."

"Love makes you do stupid things." Cloud muttered, briefly envisioning that night at the inn when he'd first met Juneaux. He still didn't know _what_ to make of that.

Juneaux leaned closer to him over the table. "You need to forget about me, Cloud. It's over, for me."

He shook his head defiantly. "It's not. I'll get you out of here, I promise." He grasped her hand, only to receive a pained look in return that said _don't be so damned stupid_.

"Alright you two, time's up!"

Cloud snapped his head toward the doorway from where the Shinra guard had barked at them. Tseng stood next to him with his arms folded and motioned with a jerk of his head for Cloud to leave. Two more officers came into the room and forced Juneaux to her feet and marched her out, back down the murky corridor toward the cells. Cloud's fingertips tingled from where their skin had touched momentarily, before she was ruthlessly snatched away from him.

He watched her go, feeling anger and mako combined, rising and surging through his veins in waves. If he didn't leave now, he was going to lose it, but this was definitely _not_ over. Cloud was Zack's living legacy, and now it was up to _him_ to carry out what Zack had vowed to do for Juneaux so many years ago. Cloud now had the duty of breaking the everlasting shackles that Shinra had bound on Juneaux once and for all. She would see daylight again, yet.

"This isn't over." Cloud glared hard and long at Tseng before taking the elevator back up to ground level.

In the corridor, Cloud – his face like thunder – was greeted by Reno.

"So, what's the deal, yo?" the lanky, flame-haired man took a casual approach.

"I don't know, Reno, you tell me." Cloud hissed, without stopping, heading toward the exit. He pushed the door open with more force than was necessary.

Reno ran out after him. "You know I can only do so much, man!"

"Yeah?" Cloud spun around. "Well you can give me all the inside information, then."

"Dude, I don't even know where to begin. Why do you wanna bust this girl out, again?" he appeared confused.

Cloud growled in frustration and gave Reno a clipped version of Juneaux's background, including a brief account of their time together in Wutai, right up to the present.

"So she knew Zack and tried to kill his mentor ten years ago, big deal? Why do you wanna risk your life again for someone like her?"

Cloud deadpanned and tried to fight off the blush that he knew was inevitably making its way to his face. Sometimes he felt like he had to spell out _everything_ to Reno for him to click.

"Ohhhh, I get you now, bro! You _like_ her, good for you. Well then, say no more!" he mock saluted the ex-mercenary.

Cloud snorted gruffly. "Will you help me, or not?"

"I'll do what I can, SOLDIER."

Cloud rolled his eyes and hopped on Fenrir. "Don't call me that. Just keep me in the loop, alright?"

"Will do."

xXx


	8. Chapter 8

Phantom: Hi all ^^ sorry it's been a while since I've posted. I've had a lot going on lately! Usual lame excuse, I know. I haven't got anything down after this chapter, so bear with me! More is in the works! But for now, enjoy :)

Chapter 8

xXx

"Cloud! What's going on? Why are you back so soon? And why are all the _guys_ here?"

Cloud stormed in through the front door of Seventh Heaven, greeted by a questioning Tifa. Nobody had told her what was going on, thinking it best that Cloud be the one to explain. It had been a huge surprise, to say the least, when everyone came crashing through the door of the bar, creating quite a stir. Yuffie, however, was still up-in-arms over the ordeal and had done some venting, giving Tifa a vague idea of what had gone down in Wutai.

Cid and the others had gate-crashed Seventh Heaven, hanging out in the bar, until Cloud was done at Shinra. Needless to say, Marlene was thrilled to have unexpectedly reunited with Barret, and there were smiles all-round. Even Vincent, who rarely showed any kind of emotion, seemed pleased that the little girl was so happy about seeing her father again.

Cid had declared that the bar was closed until further notice and hustled all of the locals and drunks out for the rest of the day, then, ironically, poured himself a whiskey. The others then helped themselves, too, and there were shots for everyone. Tifa was left standing behind the bar, gobsmacked, as the entire entourage of her friends – whom she had not seen in almost two years – came bustling through the door, complete with Red and Cait Sith.

"There's been…a mishap." Cloud replied, in answer to her question.

Tifa frowned. "Obviously! What mishap? Tell me what's going on, Cloud."

"In Wutai – someone has been kidnapped by Shinra, and we need to get them back. I've already instigated a rescue operation…as you can tell." Cloud gestured to their mutual friends lounging around the bar, drinking and playing rounds of pool.

"Who got kidnapped? I don't understand."

This was the part he wasn't looking forward to breaking to Tifa. Cloud knew it was going to go one of two ways – Tifa would either chastise him, questioning as to why he was being so irrational over someone he hardly knew, _or_ she would keep quiet and not ask any questions. Cloud hoped it would be the latter.

Cloud had known about the way Tifa felt for him for years – most of his life, in fact. In his heart, he knew that all she wanted was him. But the time for that had passed, now. Cloud wanted to do everything he could to make Tifa happy – but that was the one thing he could not bring himself to do. Not only would it be a sham, but it would only end up hurting both of them, and the children, in the end.

Certainly it had crossed his mind; many people entered relationships or marriages for reasons other than love – for convenience, or financial reasons, or both – and Tifa was by no means an unattractive woman. Cloud knew they could have a modest, comfortable life together, and that he would have made her the happiest woman alive, but to him it felt all wrong.

Tifa was like his best friend; Cloud had had such plans for a life with Aerith before she was murdered, but now that was stolen from him. He did not want Tifa to become second best, even though he knew she would have gladly settled for it.

No, Cloud did not love Tifa the way Tifa loved Cloud, and though many a time Cloud had come close to giving in and letting Tifa have what she longed for, he just couldn't.

Taking a deep breath, Cloud told Tifa – leaving out the more delicate details – about what had happened that night at the Old Mill Inn. Seeing the hurt in Tifa's eyes, he told her about the fun-filled few days in Wutai with Juneaux. He told her about Juneaux's connection with Shinra, and how she had known Zack, and that now it was his duty to break her free, as Zack had once failed to accomplish almost a decade ago.

"Cloud…I thought our fighting days were over?" Tifa said quietly. "Shinra will always get their way. If they found this woman after nearly a decade, doesn't that prove that they're unstoppable?"

"I'm not talking about destroying Shinra, Tifa. They're always going to be around. But experimenting on innocent people is wrong, and that is exactly what they're going to do to her, again."

"You said she was an assassin. Killing innocent people is wrong, too, you know."

"The people she was hired to kill were not what you'd call 'innocent', Tifa."

"And Angeal? What did _he_ ever do wrong?" she asked, defiantly. "Before he went slightly crazy, that is…"

Cloud exhaled. Somehow, he knew Tifa wasn't going to take kindly to this.

"I don't know. When you're hired to do a job for someone, you don't ask questions. Look – either you're in this with me, or you're not. What's it going to be?"

Tifa blinked. "You know I'll always stand by you, Cloud."

Cloud relaxed. "Thank you, Tifa."

xXx

Cloud barely got any sleep over the next few days. He was too busy trying to get leads so that he might be able to enlist more people to help aid him in the rescue operation. Ex-members of AVALANCHE, who had also been at Yuffie's gathering in Wutai, had agreed to help them, but they needed more manpower – _much_ more. This mission was going to be colossal on every level; the mere mentioning of 'infiltrating Shinra' seemed to put the fear of Gaia into most.

The others were doing their homework, too, but none were having much luck. None of them had the connections whereby they might be able to persuade people into joining their squad, and those who had expressed interest were not fit for the job, namely kids or teenagers from the slums, thinking it might be exciting to get out and do something cool, for once, with no idea what they might be faced with. They had no experience in wielding weapons and would only burden the others, if nothing else. Cloud had ultimately had to decline them.

Finally, when Cloud was near breaking point and was ready to storm Shinra _alone_ if he had to, he got a call.

"_Yo, Cloud. It's Reno," _

Cloud would know that voice anywhere. "What've you got?"

"_Well…ya really gotta keep this on the down-low, Cloud, 'cause I could lose my job if it gets out that I told ya this, but…"_

"Yeah?"

"_They've taken them to the Shinra base at Junon, left at the crack of dawn this morn'."_

Cloud grit his teeth. Now Juneaux wasn't even in _Midgar_. He should've known this was going to happen. Many years ago, AVALANCHE had attacked Shinra and it was likely it would happen again, at some point. Anti-Shinra terrorist groups were rife in Midgar, although no attacks had been carried out in the last few years – or, if they had been, they'd failed and been kept very quiet, out of the media spotlight.

Obviously, the company had wised up since then and thought better of holding prisoners in their main headquarters. Keeping them offshore was prudent on their part, but this made things inevitably more difficult for Cloud and his team.

The underground city of Junon was a bitch of a place to get in and out of, Cloud thought irritably. This was going to need even more careful planning, now, than before.

"What do you suggest?" Cloud asked Reno quietly.

"_Get to Junon, brother! Before your girlfriend becomes a lab rat."_

"Reno!"

"_Sorry, yo. Just saying." _

"Anything else you want to add to that?"

"_Yeah. I heard through the grapevine about some…'people'…you might be interested in. Call themselves 'REQUIEM'."_

"Who are they?"

"_All I know is they're anti-Shinra operatives…much like you, I guess! Dude, I gotta go or my ass is grass! I'm tellin' ya too much, here!"_

Cloud could hear the panic rising in his friend's voice. "That's all I need, Reno. Thanks."

He snapped his phone shut and turned to face everyone else gathered in the church, who had obviously been eavesdropping on his conversation. Presently, they were using Aerith's church ruins as a base; there was simply no room in Seventh Heaven for all of them, and like hell were any of them going anywhere else at a time like this!

Tifa had shut the bar until further notice; _this_ was much more important. Marlene and Denzel were at the age now where they could fend for themselves, and had been given strict instructions to lay low and not leave the house until they'd heard from Tifa, Cloud or Barret, ideally when this situation would be done with.

"Anybody heard of a group called 'REQUIEM'?" Cloud asked his friends at large.

"Mm…" Yuffie rubbed her chin in thought. "Nope, not me."

"Can't say I have," Tifa replied casually.

Cid and Barret looked back at Cloud blankly. That was clearly a 'no'.

Cait Sith and Red exchanged puzzled glances and then looked at Cloud, both shaking their heads. Another 'no'.

"I have," Vincent volunteered, after a time of silence.

"Why didn't you just say before?" Cloud deadpanned.

"I wanted to see if anybody else had, first."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Weirdo…"

"What do you know about them? How do we get hold of them?" Cloud tried not to let the urgency show in his voice.

"I believe their leaders originate from Kalm," Vincent said. "but they're based here, now. They've tried and failed many a time at taking over Shinra."

"Taking _over_ Shinra?" Barret voiced, sounding incredulous. "What kind of a numbskull would try and _take over_ Shinra?"

"Why not just try and destroy it, like us?" Tifa added, mildly sarcastic.

"They have an advantage, though." Vincent continued. "Many of them are ex-Shinra cadets. You may even know of some of them, Cloud. They went rogue after the Nibelheim incident and quit Shinra immediately after the scandal went public. They were horrified at what had happened and joined a resistance group, namely, REQUIEM."

"You don't say much, _vampy_, but when you do, it's usually pretty useful!" Yuffie exclaimed, patting him on the back.

Vincent frowned. "Thanks…I think."

"How can we get a hold of these people? We can't waste any more time." Cloud was starting to become agitated.

"Who's got a phone?" Vincent questioned.

"You lost yours already!" Yuffie sounded appalled.

"They're small, alright? And as you can see, my pockets aren't exactly reliable." Vincent gestured to his clothing and, mainly, to his cape, which was full of holes.

"Oh, for the love of materia…"

"Here, use mine." Cloud suppressed a snort at his bickering friends and handed Vincent his phone.

xXx

Green, catlike eyes swished this way and that, inspecting each individual standing before them. Finally they settled back upon Cloud, narrowing into slits. Something about the woman was off-putting to Cloud, almost inhuman; like she was some kind of a hybrid. In fact, this entire place gave him the creeps, if he was being brutally honest. Something just didn't seem…_right,_ about it.

"What's in it for us?" the eyes demanded.

"You get to help us take down Shinra, _that's_ what!" Yuffie cried, fist-pumping.

"We didn't say there would be a reward," Cloud said evenly.

The woman, Nyla – who Cloud took to being the leader of REQUIEM – turned and consulted with a hulking, bald-headed man standing beside her, who, Cloud guessed, was her second-in-command. They spoke a language Cloud wasn't familiar with. Then again, even this isolated part of the continent wasn't familiar to Cloud. In all his days as an infantryman, SOLDIER and a delivery boy, he didn't think he'd ever passed through this countryside just outside of Midgar.

After a few moments of speaking in the foreign tongue, Nyla turned her eyes back on Cloud.

"Fine, we will help you. On one condition," she said, in her thick and unusual accent.

He frowned. "What condition?"

"You take your buster sword to our armoury so we may copy the design and reproduce it for our own warriors."

Cloud shook his head and swiped his hand out in front of him. "We don't have time for you to create new weapons. We leave for Junon tomorrow night; either you come with us, or you don't."

"Cloud, it would be suicide without more numbers!" Tifa hissed, pulling him aside.

"I can't keep waiting, Tifa. It's been almost a week, already." _Who knows what they would have done to her, by now…_

The raven-haired beauty sighed in defeat. _Cloud's Cloud, alright_.

"I'm not as good at the talking thing as you are," Cloud admitted to her quietly. "Do you think you could try and talk them round?"

She pursed her lips. "I can only try." She stepped forward to catch Nyla's attention. "Listen, Nyla…We have nothing to offer you, it's true. But if you want to join us, to fight alongside us for what you truly believe in – what your activist group is all about – then now is your chance. We're on the same side; we're allies. So what do you say? Help us bring down Shinra; innocent lives are at stake. You and your troops may never get this opportunity again."

Her eyes narrowed back into slits in thought, and she jabbered and gesticulated wildly once more with the stocky, bald man, who only nodded, or grunted, in reply.

"Very well," Nyla replied, as if swallowing her pride. "When do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning," Cloud replied. "It shouldn't take longer than a day to get to Junon from here, by air. We will attack under the cover of darkness, so ready yourselves."

"We have our own air fleet," Nyla said. "I will be sure to inform the militants of an impending mission. Are you staying the night, here?"

They had come too far from Midgar to turn back, now, Cloud thought, so he nodded. The _Shera_ was accommodating enough, for one night at least.

"Please feel free to dine at one of the restaurants down in the village if you get hungry, then." Nyla replied, but without showing too much hospitality. They were strangers, after all, and had asked them for their help with no such reward, at that.

"Thank you," Cloud said. "We will."

Nyla nodded satisfactorily. "All hail Gaia!" she shrieked, doing some sort of an odd, hoppy dance – in sync with the bald man – swooping forward and then backward and falling into the final pose with her hands arranged elaborately in front of her.

Cloud thought it looked rather dippy but assumed it was some kind of religious recital and thought nothing more of it. Different tribes around the planet often had different customs and ways of going about things, yet their worship toward Gaia was universal. The mercenary nodded curtly at them and then gestured for the others that this meeting was over and they all walked back to the Shera.

"How is the rest of AVALANCHE getting to Junon, Yuffie?" Cloud asked, once they were all aboard again.

"That's all taken care of!" she replied. "Don't you worry, Cloud. We're back, better and stronger than ever!"

"My relatives are on their way from Cosmo Canyon as we speak," Red added.

"How big is Nyla's army, Vincent?" Cloud questioned.

"Bigger than you think," the elusive man replied. "As I said before, many ex-Shinra cadets joined her after the Nibelheim incident. A lot of them still reside in Midgar, or Edge, but most of them live in this village, now."

"I presume they have the means for fighting? They said they have an armoury."

"They deal mainly in explosive weaponry." Vincent said coolly. "Their militants are quite… _diverse_, I guess you could say."

"There's something kind of creepy, about this place." Tifa said, rubbing her arms whilst looking down at the village out the window.

Cloud was glad someone else had picked up on it.

"Their army is not entirely…human." Vincent added.

"Neither is ours!" Cait Sith exclaimed.

"On top of their human army, which numbers in the hundreds, they also have a number of different creatures helping them."

Cloud snorted as he envisioned a mass militia of giant pink Moogles storming toward Junon. The possibility was not all that farfetched, he realised.

"They're not…the ones who tame monsters, _are_ they?" Tifa turned to Vincent.

"Something like that."

"I thought that was just a rumour!" Yuffie cried.

"It's not widely known. Thought to be a myth," Vincent replied. "It is, in fact, truthful. Although I don't know how many tamed monsters they claim to have, or where they keep them."

Cloud frowned, wondering how it was even possible. "Yuffie, do you have any materia?"

The ninja rolled her eyes. "What do you think?" she tapped a small container hidden under the bureau of the cockpit with her toe.

The ex-mercenary nodded. "Good."

"I have one summon materia, too. Who do you want to give that to?"

Cloud looked around. "Shelke, would you mind?"

The girl-sized woman shrugged dismissively. "Sure, I can do that."

"Alright then. We'll equip ourselves later. Right now we need sustenance and rest for what's ahead of us."

"Sounds good to me, as long as there's whiskey." Cid remarked.

"Dunno about the rest of you, but I'm starved!" Barret hollered. "I'm gonna go down the village and see what's there. Who's coming?"

Without more adieu, the troupe left the airship and went into the town centre, each one brooding over what might lay ahead of them in the coming days.

xXx


End file.
